


my stupid fiance.

by tevna



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, F/F, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation, Marriage of Convenience, but like arranged by them?? they arranged it themselves, i think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:30:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 61,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7171301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tevna/pseuds/tevna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are probably one the last two people on Earth you'd expect to get married. Least of all to each other.</p><p>Probably.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**MY STUPID FIANCE 3.0** **  
** **chapter 1**

* * *

  _ **(** **April 2029)**_

Without a doubt in her body, Rose Weasley hated weddings.

She hated everything about them. She hated how much they cost: mentally, physically, emotionally. And God and Merlin know, financially. Plus, they were incredibly sexist in nature. She had to wear white to show she was a virgin or everyone would judge. Her father gets to give her away, like she's a puppy in his litter and he owns her. It was a stupid practice for people to show each other off to other miserable people and honest to, she just hated them all.

+

More than anything, Scorpius Malfoy hated weddings.

He hated the way people pretend to be in love. Because then they scream and fight behind closed doors and it's all a waste because you're going to get divorced anyway. Like they're worried people will see through their happy couple facade and they'll be forced to be real with each other, and it's not good at all to be bound to someone for the rest of their life, it isn't _natural_.

These are probably one the last two people on Earth you'd expect to get married.

Probably.

* * *

 "Not again, Mother." Rose whined, on the phone. Her friend Parvani shook her head, amused and obviously laughing into her cup of tea. Rose sent her a withering glare and Parvani shrugged, flopping herself on Rose's brand new couch, smiling around at her friend's new house.

"No, I don't want to meet your boss's son... because it's weird! We’re co-workers. He's... no, not him. Merlin, he's such a pervert! Mother! Ok... okay... I know Mum... bye. Okay, I'll be there. Mum! Thank you and goodbye." Rose hung up the phone, and let out a frustrated yell, sipping her cup of coffee, practically inhaling it. She let out a sigh and settled back on the couch with her best friend.

Parvani smirked. "Mummy still want you to get a man?" she teased, pinching Rose's cheeks.

Rose rolled her eyes. "What else is new?" she swatted her hands away, sighing. "Not all of us can find love like theirs, and that quickly. I mean, they've known each other for over 20 years."

Parvani smiled shyly. "Well..."

Rose gave her an excited look. "What? Did they get a new coffee machine at work? Because this... is awful." Rose says, making a face at her horrid coffee, sometimes she thinks Dominique needed to stick to baking and not coffee. Out of loyalty, she still drank it every day, while Parvani always insisted she drink more of tea. Tea just didn't have enough kick for her.

"Rosie... you know Albus and I have been together since... fifth year right?" Parvani stated, biting her lip anxiously and Rose nodded, wondering where this conversation would lead.

"Yes…?" Rose said, smiling at her very best friend. Her friend smiled back nervously, holding up her left hand. Rose looked at it quizzically before realizing the huge diamond rock placed on her ring finger that she had managed to _miss completely_ somehow.

Oh God.

"He proposed?" she said, genuinely shocked, sitting up on her couch. This was sudden, unexpected, more so than anything, especially from Al. "Really?"

Parvani nodded, biting her lip to contain herself. "We were in the middle of an argument over his desire to build a Quidditch pitch in our backyard when all of a sudden, he kissed me and proposed and I couldn't say no."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "To the Quidditch pitch?"

Parvani giggled. "Shut up, Rose. I’m getting married!"

+

"Scorp, I did it." Al said, his voice clearly indicating that he was smiling. Oh man. Scorpius rolled himself off his bed as Al busted into his flat. He regretted giving Albus a spare key in that moment. He trudged out of his room to meet his best friend in the kitchen, where he looked like he was vibrating off pure happiness.

"Made the biggest mistake of Vani’s life." Scorpius shook his head and prepared his coffee, black. Al shoved him, still grinning like a madman. Scorpius rolled his eyes. Poor, naive little Albus. He'll never know. Love was a big mistake, and getting married was a bigger one, two mistakes he was quite keen on never making ever again.

"Where's the lucky lady?" he grunted, sarcastically, walking out of his kitchen and settling on his couch. Al smiled wistfully and Scorpius had to stifle a gag.

"She's with Rose, for their daily coffee date." Al said dreamily, as if Parvani was a perfect goddess and everything right in the world. It made him want to puke. Scorpius felt bad for his friend and gulped down his coffee.

It would probably take the edge off the whole mess this was bound to become.

**_(February 2030)_ **

She hated weddings so bloody much. Here she was in some stupid Grand Hall on _Valentine’s Day_ of all days, celebrating her stupid cousin's stupid wedding, with itchy pinned up hair, watching James and Fred attempt to do something called the Macarena and ugh.

Rose looked down at the traditional Indian wedding garb that Parvani and Dominique had to shove her in. Excuse her attitude--because the whole outfit was really quite pretty and colorful but right now, she hated it. She hated everything. She hated that it took six whole entire months of her life to help prepare for one bloody evening, where her cousin and her best friend get to gloat about with their happiness. She hated it all.

Rose sat down at an empty table, glaring at Parvani and Al dancing like they had not a care in the world what she hated because this was their bloody wedding. Rose humphed.

+

He hated weddings. He hated them in every way. They were silly and obnoxious, horrible practices that seemed worse than any death penalty. He hated that poor Al had to go through this, and put Parvani through this. He took out a pack of cigarettes and took one out.

Written in Sharpie, he had written the word "Beth". He placed it back in the pack, brandishing two: one that said "Zach" and one that said "Haley". Deciding that it was appropriate for Haley to be the one to smoke off his chest, he placed it in his mouth. He brandished his lighter and set her aflame. It was a metaphor, replacing one addiction with another. One that was equally if not less harmless.

Anyway, most of all right now, he hated that his mother, Merlin that woman... decided that he shouldn't be a bachelor by now yet he was only 25. He should at least be dating someone, she said daily while his dad just sighed and tried to draw her attention away from the matter she had at hand (probably to no avail, that women could _talk_ )

He sat in the emptiest table he could find. And since this was both the Potter family and the Jordan-Patil family, both too large for their own good, even the emptiest table had a woman who was already sitting there but he couldn't give two shits about that right now. However, as he sat down one of them rolled her eyes at the couple feeding each other cake and call him crazy, but Scorpius felt a jolt... like she understood.

"You hate weddings too?" he said, looking at her. She was beautiful. Her brown dress actually complimented her hair well, her eyes were contrasting: a menacing blue. Scorpius felt a smirk tug at his lips, as she nodded vigorously, twirling her glass as the floating wine bottle tried to fill it. He smiled lightly.

"With a passion. But mum insists I shouldn't be so-"

"Single." they said in unison. She finally turned to look at him, and he shrugged. She gave him a tiny approving smile and he gave her a smirk. She raised her eyebrows.

"Mine's the same way." He said, words dripping from his mouth in full seduction mode. He would enjoy her, he thought. Someone with his so-called "commitment issues" and what he's hoping: the same loose and fast morals as he would make for a very good shag. At least something good will come from this wedding. She looked down for a second as he smirked at her. The wine bottle tried to fill his cup, but he signaled for the firewhiskey.

Rose looked over at the gift table. She sighed. "As much as they cost, they make a hell of a lot of money for these things."

"You need a hell of a lot of money?"

"Everyone needs a hell of a lot of money."

Scorpius chuckled darkly, taking in the sting of firewhiskey, breathing deeply. "Some more than others." Rose looked down at her dress.

* * *

  _It was a week before the wedding. Rose and Parvani went back to Rose's house, her first house. She loved this house. She loved all the colors she got to put on the wall, all the paintings and pictures, and the furniture... she had a soft spot for it. She had worked hard to get this house, no handouts from Uncle Harry, no interference from her family. She had scrapped and saved and fought for everything in that house._

_But when they stepped in, Rose shrieked._

_Empty._

_Completely and utterly empty, no furniture, or anything. Her pictures were still up, her clothes still there but everything was gone! Rose screamed again._

_Parvani looked around in shock. "I-I'm calling Al and James, they'll-"_

_"They'll what! My house... Parvani!" Rose said, waving her arms frantically in the space where her couch used to be._

_Parvani cringed. "They even took the coffee maker." she said quietly and Rose whipped her head to face the kitchen._

_"What?"_

* * *

 Rose nodded. "Some more than others."

Scorpius looked at her. She was intent on smoothing and then folding the sash of her dress. He scratched his head, staring at her for a second. She felt his stare and a red blush rose up her neck. God, those stupid Weasley genes.

"Stop staring at me." she grumbled, looking off in the distance. He laughed lightly at her, as her blush continues to creep up her neck. He can feel her getting angrier and angrier by the second.

She was furiously pleating her dress now, wringing it in her hands.

"I can't help it." he said simply, continuing to stare at her. "It's what I do."

She snorted. "Your job is to stare at people?" She said disbelievingly, still refusing to look back at him, childishly. "What an uncomfortable one that must be."

Scorpius grinned, gulping down more firewhiskey. "You have no idea."

* * *

  _"Look at me Scorp." a dark voice echoed off the walls of the bar. Scorpius looked back at the man, the man he used to idolize. The man gave him a deranged, cocky smile._

_"You owe me something." he whispered, his voice scratchy, his fists clenching. Scorpius drank more butterbeer, wanted to be clear-headed if he needed to fix some damage with the way this conversation was going. "732 Galleons, to be exact."_

_"Zach, I told you months ago. I quit." Scorpius seethed, getting annoyed._

_"Not before you pay me back, you don't. Come on Scorp. Do you want to pay up or just come back to your Uncle Zach?" he said and Scorpius shuddered, the creepy man just terrified him. After what the hell he wanted him to do to that poor girl? After all the lives he's fucking ruined? He wants Scorpius to come back? Yeah, right._

_"Give me some time, Zach. Then, just leave me alone. I don't... I don't even want to hear of you. Jesus, you're a freak." Scorpius glowered at the man. His face spread into a sickly grin, laughing like the creepy fuck he was._

_"You have until I say so, Scorp. That's good right? Haley misses her favorite-"_

_Scorpius finished his butterbeer and walked out, his limp getting less and less noticeable._

* * *

 He looked back at Rose.

"Too bad I don't want to get married... then my mom would probably be so ecstatic she'd pay for it…and plan it. All I'd have to do is show up, you know. Afterwards, I'd have the money to... pay off my loans." he said dancing around his Zach the Dumbass adventures. She looked at him, finally.

"And I'd be able to refurnish my house. It was robbed." she shrugged nonchalantly. Rose missed a full house though. She spent everything on that house, she treated it with love and care and it takes one dick to take that away. Lifting her glass, she shooed the wine bottle away and started on firewhiskey. So she didn't know how long it took for him to snake closer to her. He was three seats away from her on the other side right?

After a few drinks with him and a considerable amount of alcohol for her tiny body, which she downed like a pro, he hopped a chair to show her how exactly how intricate the flower detail was and how if you squinted, it looked like a little like the groom. Then he hopped a chair when spilled his drink, which made her drunk self laugh, as he and his wand failed to sop it up. And then, he hopped that final seat when she smeared her lipstick.

"Wait, you have something there." he was laughing, which made her laugh more and it frustrated him that she wasn't keeping still so he could point out what was wrong. He reached for her face and kept her steady. Rose still managed to hiccup and chuckle in a breathy tone. Scorpius reached tentatively for her bottom lip with his thumb, wiping the bright ruby red trace of makeup and the alcohol from under her chin.

"Did you get it?" Her breath smelled like the human embodiment of an open bar. He nodded slowly and could almost count the freckles on the bridge of her nose, he was that close to her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked. He was closer to her than he was before, and his tie was undone, and her shoes were on the seat next to her. He was close to her and he smelled like firewhiskey and cologne and cigarettes and something earthy. She, for all her life, couldn't distinguish exactly what it was. But it made her skin flush all over and she nodded. She didn't know Scorpius or who he was, for all she knew he was a random handsome stranger she met at her cousin's wedding. She bit her lip, looking him over and taking a deep swig of whatever was in her cup by now, she ultimately nodded.

Also Rose loved to dance. Outside of Hogwarts, ever summer she took dance classes. She used to do it because she wanted to be just like her Mum when she was five and her Grandfather and her Mum both wanted her too, but as she grew up she started to fall in love with the dancing part itself. She was talented in ballet, exquisite in tap but she truly shone when ballroom came into play. Even out of practice and a lot a bit drunk, she held the grace of a girl who once learned and competed with a paso doble routine in 15 hours.

He didn't know that of course, so when she started gliding around the dance floor with him, he was surprised at how composed she actually was. She let out a giggle after a minute, at his shock and a smile curled up and around his lips.

At the same time, Ms. Longbottom placed her contribution on the gift table, on the arm of Luna Lovegood, who had a soft spot for the old woman. Luna dropped a check on the table, smiling as the woman yelled across the Hall that her grandson better find a chair for her. As Scorpius spun Rose around, per request, she noticed and gasped.

They were close again, his lips were just centimeters away from his. They smelled like alcohol and stale perfume. Rose grinned at him slowly, as the song stopped and everyone clapped and they stopped spinning. She bit her lip. As if he wasn't already staring at them. He didn't know what part of him was talking now but he really wouldn't mind shagging this woman, right in front of children. He hoped it showed in his eyes, so she knew.

Rose cleared her throat. "Is it bad...that I really want to go home with you and I don't even know your name?" She was glad he didn't recognize her from anywhere immediately. Of course, she looked different with all this make up and this dress and the straight hair and contacts and drunk smile than she does on TV and magazines, with a Holyhead Harpies hoodie, frizzy hair, sunglasses, and no lipstick.

"Really bad," he nodded, purposefully not telling her his name. Not yet. He doesn't know if she's ever seen him on GossipWand UK. Now that he was out of Zach's hellhole, the Wizard paparazzi are on his heel nonstop. He wasn't really that interesting, but he was a new face and apparently attractive and an eligible bachelor linked to many of the young wizard celebrities in Britain, hell even some in the States. It was flattering and annoying.

He didn't really know what happened after that, they've never really been able to piece together that night. He remembered he felt her up a bit and she might have let him handle her a little roughly. He remembered that she seemed a little too drunk and a little too happy to be. He remembered he had time to get a cigarette, one that said Beth this time. She remembered that he apparated them-drunk as her father at Christmas- and almost lost a toe. She remembered falling into a bed, he remembered her laugh as her topples over her. She remembered him teasing her, taking a hit of his cigarette every time he seemed like he was going to kiss her.

“Why do you hate weddings?” he said, as she drew lines on his face as he smoked. He flicked the cigarette bud in the direction of the window and bent his head down to the crook of her neck, breathing her in. Her nails dug in the back of his own neck and he shuddered a bit.

“Soulmates...aren’t...real. It’s a lie. There’s no such thing, I think, of the shit they sell you about true love and all of that.”

“So is that why you sleep around?” he whispered. She rolled her eyes and swatted at his back.

“No, asshole. I don’t sleep around.” There was a pregnant pause where they just laid there, coexisting and breathing each other in. Rose dragged her hand through his blonde hair, pushing it back.

"Hey...would you... d'you wanna marry me?" Scorpius finally said, detaching from her. He laid his head on her stomach and listened to her chuckle.

“I’m not your type.” Rose sang as he tried to explain himself.

"I want to pay off my loan," he nodded, leaning up and kissing her neck and collarbone in between sentences. "You want to refurnish your house. It's perfect. It's too perfect. You get the new fancy stuff, I get the money, we don't want to get married for real to someone ever, so why not marry each other. As friends, as business partners even."

"I don't even know your name." she admitted, hiccuping drunkenly. "And you haven't kissed me all night. But it's alright. Me and my coffee maker were having problems anyway."

Scorpius turned to look at her. "I fucking love coffee." he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t do this often.” Rose said quietly, scratching her head. “I don’t know the proper etiquette with this things, so forgive me if this sounds bad but...what did you say your name was?”
> 
> “I didn’t.” Scorpius said, giving her a charming smirk. Rose rolled her eyes. "Some things are better left mysteries."
> 
> “Oh my God, I can’t believe I went home with that guy.” She gestured toward him, looking around for the sari that she had arrived in this house in so she could take off his clothes and go. “Look I don’t even wanna know it anymo--.”
> 
> “What do you mean that guy?” Scorpius looked at her and blinked, taken aback.

The next day, Rose awoke with a massive headache, lipstick on her forehead, and the very overwhelming sense that something was wrong. She was in an unfamiliar bed in a very unfamiliar place but did not feel unsafe.

She poked at the stranger next to her, groaning a bit as she felt the alcohol start to hit her body. What was the hangover charm again? Also, she needed a shower, badly, and felt like she was gonna throw up.

The stranger next to her stirred and turned to look at her, eyes wide but not in a surprised way. It seemed like he was privy to this kind of thing, which didn’t do much to comfort her.

“Hello,” he croaked with a smirk on his face.

“Hello,” Rose said, looking down and playing with her fingers. “What happened…did we…”

“Nah. Trust me if we did, I feel like we’d remember it. Although you did drink me under the table last night.” The stranger stretched and looked at the time. 1 pm. It was a classic February day in England: cold.  

“I don’t do this often.” Rose said quietly, scratching her head. “I don’t know the proper etiquette with this things, so forgive me if this sounds bad but...what did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t.” Scorpius said, giving her a charming smirk. Rose rolled her eyes. "Some things are better left mysteries."

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I went home with _that_ guy.” She gestured toward him, looking around for the sari that she had arrived in this house in so she could take off his old t shirt and boxers and go. “Look I don’t even wanna know it anymo--.”

“What do you mean that guy?” Scorpius looked at her and blinked, taken aback.

“Okay, let’s see. First off, look at this apartment--small and big at the same time, like seemingly your ego and/or self-esteem. And the smirk thing with the witty banter and the lusty soulful eyes but the not having sex with me and the not telling me your name, you don’t want to get too close for some reason and trust me that’s fine by me. You want me to think you’re used to this life of meaningless sex and one-night-stands, when I don’t think you are but you want to be just in case because you’re probably halfway to 30, scared about the future, and lonely. But that’s just my opinion.” Rose concluded, pulling her leg up on the bed nonchalantly. She’s seen this all before. She’s _dated_ this all before. And she’d fallen for it again.

“Okay, you don’t know me.” the man scoffed, pulling out his cigarettes.

“You’ve been through a lot.” she said. He looked at her for a second before she continued “And not like in a way like we all have. You write people's names on cigarettes because you think it’ll make the past disappear but all it’ll do is stain your teeth and make you blow out a lung. And make your sheets smell.”

“I don’t think you like me very much.” He smiled at her, still trying to charm and schmooze her.

Rose shrugged. “Might be the hangover talking, but right now I kinda don’t."

He nodded and sighed. “Well, I can’t really blame you, can I?”

Rose noted the self-deprecation in that statement, confused. That didn’t go along with the profile she’d created for him but she didn’t point that out.

“You can take a shower and change if you like, you can leave whenever, put the clothes anywhere, I’m gonna go blow out a lung.”

He grabbed his smokes and his wand and left the room smiling to himself in a sad way and Rose suddenly hated herself for being so critical--it was something she inherited from her mother. She felt bad about trying to dissect this man in front of him, she didn’t mean it maliciously, just being honest. One day, she’ll learn. 

+

As she took a shower, he decided out of politeness to be nowhere near. He sat on his stairs and smoked his Haley cigarette down rather quickly. Before he could go back upstairs however, Scorpius's cell phone beeped. He had gotten the Muggle thing before the introduction of the Wizarding Cell because of Zach, who insisted they keep in touch using the thing because they were unregulated by the Ministry. Now he kept it, for his mum said it was convenient and she liked talking to him, no matter what he thought of her reasoning. He really thought she kept it around to nag him.

So he was expecting his mother's voice as he pressed talk and it came to him as a totally unwanted surprise when he heard the gravel-like voice on the other line, surrounded by cackles and heaving.

"Time's up."

"What do you mean, 'Time's up'?" Scorpius whispered harshly into the receiver. I glared back at the bathroom door.

"Calm down, Scorp. It’s a joke, not really. I wouldn't do that with how much progress you're making. That desk job at Gringotts must be paying well." The man chuckled darkly. Scorpius narrowed his eyes at the phone.

"How'd you know about that? Oh bloody hell, never mind that, why in the name of all things Merlin are you calling me?" he hissed. He could almost see Zach rolling his eyes. Rose started in on the chorus.

"Just wanted to speak to you." Zach said ominously. Everything he did was rather dark. Scorpius gulped. "Haley too. We miss you."

"I don't think so. It’s too early for either of you to be up. Besides, I have company.”

“Oh, new girl of the week, I see. Might I ask-”

"No, Zach, you might not." The boy-turned-man said in a controlled voice.

“Touchy I see,” Zach laughed and he heard Haley in the background. Scorpius hung up abruptly and blinked, trying to will away the memory of Haley leaving him for Zach. Said it was nothing personal. And the drugs had changed Haley from the Haley he fell for into a completely different person, so the break up didn’t hurt as much as he thought it did.

That didn’t stop Scorpius from slugging Zach in the jaw that day. Haley had looked up from the place in the bathtub and laughed hysterically. Zach had grinned, through the blood and pain, and said something mocking like “Oh look, Scorpius has a conscience when he’s not high” or whatever. Haley, ex-fiance of the year, took another drag of her cigarette and smiled, a look of pure bliss blessing her face. Zach’s place suited her quite fine. On the outside, it looked like a broken down house, charmed to look better than it actually was. On the inside, it was dark, dusty, and filthy, filled with the rotting bodies and brains of drug-addicted nobodies.

What would Beth have said? Beth, his best friend, was young when she died of an overdose.

It was easy to get in. All you needed was one bad party, one idiot to pressure you, and it took one drag. Then you were hooked. And it was dangerous, but you didn't care. Nobody cared. And it was hard to get out, almost impossible.

In all his father's attempts to better him than what he used to be, he had turned into the one thing so much worse than that. When he realized that, he decided that he needed to get out and fast. So he didn't show up one day. He threw out all his drugs-Muggle or otherwise, limiting himself to two smokes a day, and not in a row. He was already losing interest in the white Muggle powder, but it was still hard to quit. He wore a rubber band on his wrist and snapped it every time he felt the urge. It only went away, for how brief, when he went to visit his best friend's grave, Beth Zabini was an urge-killer.

Then months later Zach had tried to contact him. He moved out of his flat and into a different one, changed his number, and helped himself, all on his own. And then Zach busted in again, his cronies holding him down and beating the living shit out of him. That's how he got the slightest of limps he had.

And he had demanded his money.

Scorpius looked back at the bathroom door as she turned the shower off. He tried not to think about how easy it would be to get married, get a divorce, split the money and the stuff, pay off Zach and then live the rest of his bachelor life in peace. Yes it was ridiculous and immoral and wrong but... fuck, even if she didn’t want to do it, it was worth a shot with someone…

All of a sudden he heard the lock on his back door turn, jumping him out of his skin and nearly giving him a heart attack. It couldn’t be Zach, that would be impossible...was what he wanted to believe. Swallowing, he reached for his wand and carefully opened the door.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was only Albus and Parvani. Al was in an untucked and unbuttoned dress shirt and tuxedo pants. Parvani was hanging off his arm, tied up in a peacoat. They were both giggling and shushing each other, failing to find whatever they were looking for...probably because they were looking in each other’s mouths...

“Oi, Al!” Scorpius called. “What are you even doing here, that key is for emergencies, and shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?”

“Calm down, Scorp!” Al said in a hushed tone. “We need to borrow Floo powder.”

“I’m still kinda drunk and my Apparition license is expired.” Parvani whispered.

“I forgot to buy Floo powder the other day but I’m like don’t worry, just ask the hotel. And then the fucking hotel, get this, is so fucking swarmy that they have an Anti-Apparition jinx and you have to PAY to Floo. 15 Galleons. Each. It’s genius. But evil. That wasn’t even the rate for international destinations so like even if Vani was SOBER--”

“Okay!” Scorpius shushed him. “Keep it down, alright. Go on, get your Floo and go.”

“Oooh. Is there a...is there a girl here?” Giggly Parvani whispered as she picked up a high heeled shoe off the kitchen floor. Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck.

“Did you come back home with someone? From my wedding? Um, you’re welcome.” Al said, which made Parvani laugh more. “Who was she? Was it one of Vani’s 30 million bridesmaids? Was it my Aunt Myrtle?”

“I didn’t have 30 million bridesmaids.” Parvani said with an exaggerated pout before erupting in a smile as Albus placed his hands around her waist.

“Oh I’m sorry, love. 30 million and one.” Albus cooed to her. Scorpius rolled his eyes and stifled a gag. He heard the shower turn off and he blanched but Albus and Parvani were too wrapped up in each other to notice.

“Okay, where’s the Floo powder.” Scorpius ran a hand through his hair as he willed the girl in his room to Apparate away, trying to remember and get them outta here before they made him sick.

* * *

Rose Weasley was standing in the robe he gave her, trying to scrub off her makeup. This had to be one of the weirdest ways to start off the day. She was no stranger to the occasional one night stand, but this wasn’t even one of those because they didn’t even kiss much.

She vaguely remembered the drinking. Her stomach lurched.

It had never been this bad. She’d always managed to control it. Her affinity for alcohol got her in trouble sometimes. It even cost her Lorcan. Well that wasn’t true. She just never had Lorcan to begin with.

Rose had always gone through life with her eyes on the prize and her feet on the ground. She was a good girl, always did what her parents said, excelled at school and Quidditch and violin, and always tried to live up to her parents. Even though she knew she shouldn’t try and use their legacy to craft her own, she just couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Lorcan came into the picture easily. He was a year younger. They’d grown up together, she knew him like she knew the back of her hand. She’d developed this silly crush on him in 7th year and he reciprocated,, which she wasn’t used to. He asked her out. She said yes. And they loved each other, they still do, but Rose knew it wasn’t enough. Just as easily as Lorcan came, he went.

It was combination of his budding sexuality and her drinking and the pressure she was starting to feel because of work and not knowing what she wanted and not feeling good enough to be her parents' daughter and Hugo starting a family so soon with a girl he _barely_ knew and her dad’s health scares and her mom going through political turmoil while running for Minister and it was just a bad time to be in your 20’s and in love so they just stopped.

And it was hard.

So she drank. She drank to cope, which was the worst reason to. Things started looking up. She got that promotion, her dad started to eat better, Lorcan went on a 2 year mission to find out migration patterns of something or the other, her mom’s political scandal was now nothing more than tabloid fodder, and Jeremy Seamus Weasley made her the proudest aunt in the world despite his idiot father. She even bought a house and a bed frame for crying out loud.

And now look how that turned out.

She didn’t want to admit it but she wasn’t joking last night. She would totally marry that stranger, get stuff for her house and leave him 2 weeks later. It would be easy, a scam, but easy.

But he was only kidding.

She gathered her dress and the clothes the strange man had loaned her before. Pulling the dress on over herself, Rose began to wonder where to put everything before she Floo’d out of here. Rose never got her Apparition license, and hated Apparition more than anything in the world after the time James tried Side-Along for the first time and almost Splinched his head and her leg off. After that, she was turned off by the whole idea.

She decided to put them on the end of his bed, folding the clothes in a neat pile and leaving a note stating her thanks. She debated for a full minute about leaving her name or her full name or her number. She didn’t know what she wanted from this or what he wanted, so it was best to assume nothing and just leave a very simple “Rose”. If he wanted to know who she was, maybe he’ll find her through whoever he went to the wedding for.

She opened the door and the voices she heard filled her with dread. It sounded like Vani and Al but that was impossible because they  should be halfway to India by now.

Stepping forward out of the room, she confirmed it was indeed Al and Vani for some odd reason. Fuck. Their backs were to her, hunched over and giggling while trying to steal kisses, and Scorpius was looking around his cabinets for something. Rose took another step, trying to shrink herself. But she didn’t realize that there was a stupid cactus in the way, which she promptly tripped over with a yelp.

Al and Parvani  turned to look at the noise. Parvani’s hands flew to her face as she started to laugh giddily--Rose was gonna kill her-- and Al’s face...Al’s face could only be described as priceless.

“Got it!” Scorpius said,oblivious to the situation, with a baggie of Floo powder in hand.

It was times like these that an Apparition license looked great.

  
“A little help, please?”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I...I think we should do it.”
> 
> “Fucking hell, you must think I’m stupid. Please tell me you’re taking the piss,” Rose’s wand straightened, almost brushing the tip of his nose. He swallowed.
> 
> “I’m serious, Rose.” Scorpius’s eyes twinkled with a familiar mischievous gleam. Rose blinked at him, shaking her head. It would never work, it wasn’t possible, how could she…
> 
> “Scorpius, that was before I knew who you were--” Rose tried to explain but he interjected.
> 
> “A Malfoy?” he said in a tight voice, one with no hint of emotion and suggested that he was used to insinuations like these, which left a bad taste in her mouth.

It took 10 minutes to get Albus’s wand to lower from his head as Rose tended to her PricklePear wound by his sink as Parvani brewed coffee in his kitchen and laughed at her every few minutes. If looks could kill, Rose would have Parvani dead. But he’s grateful looks can’t kill because Albus would certainly have been planning his funeral by now.

He still couldn’t believe that she was _Rose Weasley_.

It was funny. Even though there was about 6 billion of them at one time, he never noticed the Weasleys. His father had pointed them out at the train that first day and warned him about falling into trouble with the whole clan. So like the good boy he was, he steered clear. He was sorted into Slytherin with only Al to worry about while they were sorted every which way, so it was particularly easy to avoid them. They did not seek him out because of his last name like he thought they would when he was 11, although he did catch one of them looking at him thoughtfully from time to time.

Albus finally lowered his wand and hissed a slurry and butterbeer stained “What happened last night?” in his face. Scorpius let out the breath he was holding.

“Nothing, I promise.” he said earnestly. Al surveyed him a second, looked back at Rose, and appeared to believe him. “We just kissed. Maybe. See, I don’t even remember if we snogged. Al, I didn’t even know her name, let alone that she was Rose Weasley...I would have never...she was really drunk and I just didn’t want her to Apparate back home by herself is all.”

Al looked at him, trying to make sure that his cousin’s innocence wasn’t hiding somewhere with his best friend. It was the truth really, there was no way Drunk Rose could have gotten home without help. Scorpius swallowed as Al nodded.

“I am choosing to believe you right now, Scorp. But...if Rose says anything different, I will literally strangle you. But I wouldn’t kill you. I’d get over it, you know.” Al said, patting his back affectionately. “You’re my best friend.”

Scorpius’s brain worked faster than his mouth did and he was starting to say something but it was beginning to sound like a cross between a thank you and an apology and a joke of some sort? All his defense mechanisms were getting mixed up and he was still confused on how he ended up with Rose fucking Weasley in his bed. That had to be sacrilegious.

“Are you giving me permission to date your cousin or am I hallucinating?”

“You’re a good guy, Scorp.” Al said, always too pure, too honest, too good to exist in this world and be friends with a guy like him. Scorpius looked down and thanked him sheepishly.

“But her dad would kill you though.” Albus said matter-of-factly, rocking on his heels. “You know, if anything did happen. That you wanna tell me.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Straight up murder.”

“Oh, I’m aware.”

“Like, _Avada Keda_ \--”

“I get it!”

“I love you too, buddy.”

* * *

 “ _Episkey._ Don’t you have a honeymoon to go on? _Serperastra._ ” Rose mumbled as Parvani handed her some coffee. Parvani pointed her wand at her foot and started to help her patch up the last cactus wound. What kind of person keeps cacti on their hallway floor, as if that was a normal fucking plant to have in your flat?

“ _Serperastra._ Oh, the aunties can wait, I gotta hear this story.”Parvani giggled. Vani kept laughing at her situation and she was going to kill her. She couldn’t believe that that was Scorpius Malfoy. That had to be impossible, just her fucking luck, the one man...the literal one man she could have been with worse than Lord Voldemort himself.

“There’s no story, Vani. We got drunk, he wanted to take me home, I don’t have a home right now and I couldn’t remember Molly’s address so we just ended up here instead. Look, I don’t even have hickeys. And you know I love those.” Rose stuck with the truth.

“You got drunk?” Parvani’s eyebrows rose and Rose looked down and inspected her foot, trying to hide her shame.

“It was one time. It was your wedding.” she said. “It’s under control.”

“Rose, you know you shouldn’t be drin--”

“It’s fine, Vani.” Rose looked up at her, trying with her whole heart to look genuine. “I promise.”

“Okay. I trust you.” Parvani smiled at her. “I just can’t believe you went home with a Malfoy. I swear if your dad wouldn’t kill you, I’d be halfway to the phone talking to all the cousins about it. I’d literally call Roxanne and Louis at Hogwarts, your Uncle Charlie in Bulgaria, Lucy in New York, oh oh and Hugo in--”

“Okay! Okay, Vani!” Rose laughed at her enthusiasm. “You’re not doing that though.”

“Only because I wanna see you live long enough to become a godmother.” Parvani teased. “Which probably won’t be that long, considering what I have underneath this coat.”

Rose gasped and slapped her friend’s arm. “Ew, Vani, that’s my cousin! Okay, that’s it, you need to go, now. Have fun in Bali! I’m really gonna miss you, tell me all about it, let’s go!”

As Rose Weasley came bounding from his kitchen, leading Parvani by the hand,Scorpius looked around quickly, trying to gather his thoughts and look for a sign, a clue, something, anything…to let him know what to do next.

_“I’d get over it, you know. You’re my best friend.”_

He handed Al the Floo powder as his best friend and his best friend’s wife stood in his fireplace and he stared at him, trying to figure out what this all meant while nodding a goodbye to both Parvani and Albus before he realized what Al giving him permission meant. Was that his sign? And if it was, what was it a sign for?

_“You’re a good guy, Scorp.”_

He never realized how much he _wanted_ that to be true before that moment. He didn’t want to disappoint Albus. And owing a small-time drug lord (medium at best) reminded him of all he’s ever done with his life, which up until a few months ago, was the very definition of disappointing Albus.

And he knew just what to do about it.

He looked behind him at Rose Weasley as the Floo powder took effect. Rose was looking ahead of him, offering a small sarcastic wave at the couple. He hadn’t expected himself to reach for her and kiss her like he did, but he did.

And there was no way he could have imagined the smirk on Al’s face before he Floo’d away.

* * *

Rose was currently in the middle of snogging Scorpius Malfoy.

It wasn’t bad. Actually, if their fathers weren’t mortal enemies, it would be quite nice. Rose pushed him off almost immediately and started gripping for her wand.

" _Affligo! Castreo!_ " Rose shouted and Scorpius immediately felt as if he'd been kicked in the balls and the stomach at the same time. He bent over a little bit.

“Just hear me out!” Scorpius said, holding up his hands in surrender.

“What the fuck was that for!?”

“Rose, please.”

"Give a good reason why I shouldn't make you grow antlers right now."

“Okay, okay, okay...do you remember last night at all? When we were talking, about weddings a-and the money and the things...do you remember?” Scorpius said, almost desperately. “You remember it, right? And how we were joking about getting married for the money.”

“...yes?” Rose said, wand lowering in confusion.

“I...I think we should do it.”

“Fucking hell, you must think I’m stupid. Please tell me you’re taking the piss,” Rose’s wand straightened, almost brushing the tip of his nose. He swallowed.

“I’m serious, Rose.” Scorpius’s eyes twinkled with a familiar mischievous gleam. Rose blinked at him, shaking her head. It would never work, it wasn’t possible, how could she…

“Scorpius, that was before I knew who you were--” Rose tried to explain but he interjected.

“A Malfoy?” he said in a tight voice, one with no hint of emotion and suggested that he was used to insinuations like these, which left a bad taste in her mouth. With all the work her mother did to fight magical prejudice after the Second War, you’d think she’d know how to be more politically correct about these things. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he beat her to it.

“It’s okay, Rose. You can say it. In fact, that’s part of my point.” Scorpius said genuinely. “It’s a fair point. Your dad would kill me. Your mom would have a heart attack. GossipWand would shut down entirely. But do you think that people like Tony Silva and Lenelle Paraison somehow just get together? It’s all publicity, to make money so when Brazil and Haiti go against each other, people watch. And it’s not even just about that. You remember what you said. About your parents and how you want them off your back...the good thing about marrying a Malfoy is...once you divorce them, the only way you can go is up. I swear, they’ll never hassle you again. Not about getting married, not about who you marry, not about anything else. Ever. Because they know that you could do worse.” Scorpius surprised himself with how convincing this argument was.

Rose blinked and lowered her wand a moment later.

“Rose Weasley... I guess what I’m trying to say is...will you marry me?”

“I’m listening.” she said, the very same smirk on her face that was on Albus’s face. “Lunch?”

Scorpius smiled at her and Rose rolled her eyes.

“You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“Lusty eyes.”

“Sorry, sorry, force of habit.”

* * *

Rose and Scorpius argued for 12 minutes about where to eat. Rose wanted to go to her cousin's bakery in Diagon Alley, Scorpius said there were too many people and press there that would recognize them. Scorpius suggested Muggle London but Rose hated Apparation and Flooing to Muggle London and then finding a place to eat was too much of a hassle. Then Scorpius asked her to choose, she rolled her eyes, he got annoyed. Silence remained until Rose's sighed, looked at him and suggested Chinese food.

So they Floo'd to the mock Chinatown in Horizont Alley and sat there, trying to figure out how they could pull off a stunt like this by themselves without mass hysteria when they couldn't even decide between pizza and Chinese.

“So we agree. We date, we announce our engagement, we send out invitations, we call it off at the ceremony, say we’re not ready but we still hold the reception, and then break up later.” Scorpius said. “That way, we can still get some of the reception money. And a left-at-the-altar story is gonna get so much sympathy points from women. I won’t even have to try.”

"Who says I'm the one leaving you? Why do I have to be the bitch?"

"I'm already a Malfoy, so I think you need to take one for the team. Is acting bitchy really out of your range?"

“You’re a pig. I can't believe I'm doing this.”

“Noted. Look, that’s fine and everything, Rose, but by this rate we need to start dating right now. Why don’t we elope and just hold a reception? Then divorce, a month or two max. Speed wedding.”

“People would see right through that. And think I'm pregnant. If we're really fucking doing this, we're doing it right and milking this shit for all it's worth."

Scorpius looked at her, taken aback. "Are you sure I'm the Slytherin?"

"Don’t worry about the dating thing. Do you think we’re having noodles and orange chicken right now for nothing?” Rose whispered and pointed outside, where a bird with a camera around its neck was thumping around.

Scorpius smiled. “Good ol’ Julie Skeeter.”

“To her, we’ve already been married for months.” Rose smiled, biting off some of his eggroll.

“Are you some sort of evil genius? Because I’ve never seen you at the meetings” Scorpius said in admiration.

“Please, don’t bring me to your level before the plan’s even in motion.”

“Ouch.”

“Just calling it how I see it. Look, we’ve got a deal, right?”

“Right. All we have to do...is convince everyone in the Wizarding World that we’re in love…”

They looked at each other before sighing. This might be harder than they thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose Floo’d into her dear cousin Molly’s house, where she was staying while renovating her house, at around 7 PM. She and Scorpius had been spending the whole afternoon plotting their timeline and now it was time to put the plan in motion. They also had to stop somewhere to eat too and they couldn’t even agree between Chinese food and pizza. But she was ready.

Molly was feeding the newest member of the family, her daughter, Karin, in the kitchen. Molly’s girlfriend Mira Corner sat next to her, eyes roaming a book on dragons.

“Hey cousin,” Molly called.

“Hey Molls, hey Mira!” Rose yelled, immediately taking her shoes off and turning on the TV. She flipped the channel immediately from QuidditchWorld to GossipWand, eagerly.

Karin babbled, fiddling with the spoon in front of her instead of eating her mashed peas.

“Karin says hello!” Molly cooed at the baby, ignoring the splat of green on her T-shirt. “So would Miraphora, but she’s knee deep into some dragon hunting right about now. Per usual.”

“Hello.” Miraphora croaked from her place.

Despite the strong desire to have her house back, Rose loved staying with Molly, she really did. Molly and her were the only Ravenclaw Weasleys for a long time before Louis and Lucy came along, so it kind of reminded her of her Hogwarts days. Girlfriend Mira and Baby Karin were the only things different, with the occasional appearance of Karin’s rockstar father, Kyle. Yes, this whole situation had the makings of one of WitchWaveTV’s terrible sitcoms.

Speaking of television, Rose waited 10 minutes before she got to what she needed. Julie Skeeter’s DA Watch, a _daily_ gossip segment set up by Julie’s mother about her family. Usually, the only people in the family who watched were the parents on occasion and only to know what the heck was going on. Most of the kids were desensitized to it. But not today. Today, Rose’s heart was beating out of her chest as she turned up the volume.

Mira looked up to glance at the TV at the mention of Molly’s name.

“Mol, look.” Mira said, chuckling. It was a picture of Mira and Molly, who had green hair this morning but just finished dying her hair pink, holding Karin in front of a poster of Molly’s favorite band Boggart in The Cupboard (whose frontrunner just so happened to be Karin’s father). Mira had a yellow pea coat on and space buns in her black hair and was smiling wide at Karin, both of them looking amazing. Then a picture of them holding hands after placing Karin in her car seat.

“Honestly babe, isn’t it a curse to always look that good?” Molly sighed. “Now I just want to tweet all of those pictures.”

Being on the news isn't a rare occurrence in this family actually, but Rose has always been the one to stray away from the limelight, letting the others bask in it. But not today. Today, she wanted the news to work for her.

Next came Louis’s documentary (an expose) on Veela culture, Lucy taking over Honeydukes and expanding it internationally while partnering with Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Dominique’s fashion line and her trip to the Tokyo Wizarding Quarter, Teddy and Victoire vacationing in Egypt, Al and Vani’s wedding was lightly touched upon (as it was to be a major news special later on), Lily, Hugo, Fiona, and Lysander walking Jeremy and their twin daughters back home from primary school,...and then what she’d been waiting for.

“Breaking news alert!” Julie Skeeter squawked. “Pictures have surfaced of the formidable Rose Weasley with a shocking new companion of the male persuasion tonight at Chinatown in Horizont Alley. If my eyes don’t deceive me, the man that Rose Weasley has been holding out on us since Lorcan Scamander is none other than Scorpius Malfoy, who mysteriously dropped off the face of the Earth these past few years. Do you smell that? That is power in the air, one beautiful power couple.”

Molly looked up at the screen as pictures of Rose and Scorpius driving his car, him opening the door for her, breaking his egg roll off, her smiling while he laughed floated around and screamed. Mira’s mouth dropped as Molly screamed. Karin screamed back and cooed happily but Molly paid no attention. Molly ran to the living room, dove on the couch and demanded that Rose tell her everything.

“It’s nothing really. Just a friend.”Rose said, hoping Molly would see right through that, trying to remember the story .

“Did Al introduce you or something because I know he was at the wedding and all but--

“No, we met at Hogwarts. 6th year, we had Alchemy together and 7th year, we had Ghoul Studies together. We were just catching up.” Rose shrugged. Molly’s jaw dropped.

“You never told us you had a class with _him_!” Molly hissed.

“Yeah, because we didn’t even talk much. And Al and him were already in the same House so I didn’t think that me being in a class with him was that big of a deal. Anyway, I saw him at the wedding and I was drunk and you know how friendly I get when I’m drunk.” Rose shrugged.

“Rose, but you went out to dinner with the bloke _sober_!” Mira’s disembodied voice came from the kitchen. Karin started fussing and Mira picked her up and bringing her to the living room, where she was placed onto the couch. As Karin climbed into Rose’s lap, Mira sat on the arm of the couch with Molly in between her legs.

“And he’s not ugly.” Molly said, wiggling her eyebrows at Rose.

“And you’re not ugly.” Mira followed.

“And you looked pretty chummy.” Molly poked Rose in her side. “Eating off of his plate, him opening the door for you...all of that looks like flirting to me. I mean, are you sure you don’t want to have a little bit of a taste of his--”

“No!” Rose said with too much fervor. But she caught herself in Molly’s quizzical glance, cleared her throat and sighed. “I mean, er, maybe...look, Scorpius is just a friend. I promise. Besides, it took Uncle Harry months to accept Albus and him being co-workers, and my dad still gets that look on his face when he hears his name. Dating would be impossible.”

Molly gave her another quizzical look and looked up at Mira, who had a smirk on her face. Rose bit her lip and tried to keep her face down to simulate a blush. Karin swung to grab at her necklace.

“But he’s really cute, Rose.” Molly said, laying her head on Mira’s leg. “And think of the narrative. The awkward tension between Draco Malfoy and our parents would have to be squashed. You could create such discussion about forgiveness and the power of change and reform as it relates to the Wizarding World. You’d be a hero, a goddess. Withyour mom as Minister, Al fighting for Goblins, me with the WizLGBT, Louis for Veelas, you fighting for ghost rights already _and_ you dating a Malfoy...we would finally be the rebellious activist family I always wanted!”

Rose rolled her eyes as her wand started to vibrate. “Don’t hold your breath, babe. Isn’t it Kar’s bedtime? Someone’s calling me.”

“You’re right.” Molly said, grabbing a fussy Karin from Rose’s lap. “Mira, remind me to go to Baby Witch tomorrow and buy a teething wand. I think her teeth are coming in. Actually no. I think Mr. Jax Brass sent one in last week’s care package.”

“Say, where are Boggarts in the Cupboard this week?” Rose said before she picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID. Hugo. Shit.

“Japan!” Molly stood up. “They’re even performing at Mahoutokoro for some charity event, isn’t that sweet? Anyway, Rose...goodnight and good luck.”

Rose smiled at Molly as she and Mira head upstairs to put Karin to bed. She held the phone in front of her and bit her lip to stifle a smile before answering.

Everything was going according to plan.

“Hello? Yes, Hugo...yes. Hugo...no I just saw and...alright calm down before you blow up all of Ireland. Just friends! Ew, Hugo. No, no, no don’t call Mum. Hugo. Hugo? HUGO!”

* * *

 Seeing his mother in his living room was a little too much for him to handle just waking up in the morning.

Scorpius's mother was a small woman, a dainty woman. But she always managed to fill a room when no one was looking. She didn't back down. She would never take no for an answer. She was classy about it though. There was never a hair out of place with his mother. She looked exactly the same as she did when he was a child, and that was comforting. He loved her fiercely.

She understood without actually understanding and he found the fact that he could be understood without making sense oddly comforting. Whenever he felt upset as a child or got into one of his moods as a teenager or got into arguments with his grandfather, she never made him feel like he was being too sensitive or dramatic or overwhelming.

Astoria understood that he was a deep thinker, a determined man, someone who brooded intensely over things and that was fine for some time until it becomes unhealthy. She always knew when to snap him out of it. He was so much like his father and he would never know it.

It was hard when she got sick. And she got sick quick. Because she always kept everything together, including him and his father. But now she was the one who was broken and no one knew what to do.

She’d been trying to hide it from them. But Scorpius felt the air change when he came back home the summer after his 7th year. He watched her carefully. Her hand was shaking more than usual, she’d been sleeping more, and she was barely eating. Then one day, he noticed something black on the side of her neck. She’d brushed him off and said it was nothing and not to worry his father about it. She made him promise he wouldn’t say anything to his dad, squeezing his hand with more strength and fire in her eyes he’s seen her have in days. And he had no choice but to say yes. It bothered him.

And it just wasn’t like her. To hide something like that. To lie to him about it. That was something he or his father did.

He didn’t exactly  break his promise. Aunt Daphne visited with his cousins for 3 days. On the 3rd night, he went to her room and told her about what he saw. Aunt Daphne’s hand flew to her face and the next morning, she immediately went to go confront his mother.

But it was too late. They’d found her in the kitchen, glass smashed on the floor, and struggling to breath--neck and nails almost completely black. As his aunt screamed for his father, Scorpius couldn’t stop looking at his mother and how small she looked in the lap of her big sister, grateful he never had any siblings.

It was Scrofungulus. A fungus that had been slowly choking her from the inside out.

Scorpius almost lost his mother that day.

She spent 2 and a half years at St. Mungo’s in recovery, before being transferred to an American facility for surgery. When she left, she started growing her hair out to hide her neck and started a scarf collection. Healers said it was a miracle she could speak at all.

And that changed things. Especially him.

He didn’t know if he could trust her anymore.

So he went away for a little bit. He travelled the world with his girlfriend Haley by his side for a little over 3 years. He got a call from his father one random night while he was conked out in the streets of Paris, at a Witch Which? Fashion Show afterparty, telling him that his mother had made a full recovery and was coming home soon. She wanted to see him.

So he went home to see her. Haley stayed around Europe to expand on her burgeoning modeling career, which he didn’t mind. But he had to see his mother.

His father had lost weight. The House-elves he’d grown up with cried when they saw him, and all grown up he was. His father’s cat still scratched at him. His mother had cut her hair short and was letting her bruised neck show. She hugged him and she smelled like she always did, apples and fresh gardenias. His father ruffled his hair. And it was like he never left.

That was a year before Haley came back home for his 21st birthday, bringing Zach along with her. And he disguised 3 years of drug dealing in Paris as managing Haley’s modeling career. He thinks she kind of knows. But she lied to him about something big once, so she let him have this.

Seeing her in his kitchen wasn’t normal though.

Scorpius lived in London. They lived in Wiltshire. She didn’t usually make the trip to annoy him about marriage and how he was living his life in person.

“No hug?” Astoria said.

“Hello, ma.” Scorpius said, placing his bag and coat by the door. He reached over to her, placing a kiss on her head. “What do I owe this very very unexpected pleasure? You didn’t Owl anything or call? Also, you didn’t Apparate here right--you know you can’t do that anymore?”

“I know, St. Mungo. I Floo’d.” Astoria said, walking over to his couch. Scorpius rolled his eyes and followed her.

“I’m here because I read the paper. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen your face there, but I’m just here to warn you that I am probably gonna have to hex your grandfather the next family dinner we have. A Weasley, Scorpius?” Astoria smiled at him, despite her disapproving words.

“We’re just friends, Mum.” Scorpius muttered, rolling his eyes.

“So were you and Haley! And you dated her years.” Astoria pointed out. “And even so, he’s still gonna try and make up some reason as to why he’s mad at you for dragging the Malfoy name through whatever.”

“Maybe I’ll take her last name at the imaginary wedding in your head.” Scorpius muttered, earning him a “that’s-hilarious-but-NO” look from his mother.

“Scorpius.” Astoria sighed. “I just want you to be happy and marriage is a part of that, whether you like it or not. I’m sorry that you don’t. But I’m going to keep bugging you about it. A mother’s job is never done.”

“Mum!” Scorpius sighed. “Me and Haley just broke up.”

“A year ago, Scorpius.”

“Would you really be okay with me with a Weasley?” Scorpius asked suddenly, needing to know. It was a dumb question, he knew.

“Who do you think I am, your grandfather?” Astoria said, aghast that her son would really ask her this.  “Now, what I really came here for was to ask you to please come to the Manor for dinner, I’m afraid of this apartment. If these walls could talk. Also, your Auntie Daph and Uncle Omar are visiting and you haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Speaking of, is it true that dear Cousin Livvy’s a lesbian now?”

“Scorpius! Don’t be so crass...but yes she is. Daphne is just grateful that your scandal is definitely going to outshadow Olivia.”

“Well. The women are different in America, so I don’t know how Grandfather could blame her.”

“Scorpius, don’t--”

“But I always had money on that Queenie.”

“Scorpius.”

“You’re laughing, though.”

“Stop!”

* * *

 Rose entered Hugo’s house through the fireplace unceremoniously.

Hugo was on his couch, watching Jeremy fly around with his toy broom, trying to get the cat to stop swatting at his son's head while Jeremy was flipped upside down. Fiona was asleep on his lap. It was almost a cute sight. You almost forgot that Hugo and Fiona weren’t exactly the most...traditional of couples.

Fiona was a family friend, the daughter of Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown. Fiona was a Hufflepuff in the year above Hugo. They barely interacted in school, tolerated each other when the Gryffindor 5 got together for outings, and only knew of each other as almost-siblings--what would have happened if Hermione and Seamus never got in the way.

One day, while shopping for Harry’s 49th birthday party, Lavender and their mom sent Fiona and Hugo to a closed Weasley Wheezes to get more of the Enchanted Balloons, an action they would soon regret. Hugo and Fiona returned to the Burrow with the balloons, but also with mussed hair, swollen lips, and a hickey or two on Fiona’s neck. No one really got the full story because the cameras were off at WWW that day, the most probable theory being that Fiona and Hugo just smelled some of James’s old love potions that lost their potency (inadvertently leading up to James creating the WWW Lust-Me-Tender Potions).

3 months later, Fiona and Hugo ended their friends with benefit relationship semi-amicably. A month after that, Fiona found out she was pregnant at Christmas, which caused a major shift in our family since it was coming at a bad time for the Weasley-Grangers. Fiona graduated Hogwarts in her 2nd trimester and Hugo decided to move to Ireland after 7th year with his small and confusing family, which is where Rose was now trying to buy her brothers silence. 

“Hello, Rose.” Hugo whispered, trying not to wake Fiona.

“Hugo, we need to talk.”

“Ah, yes, come to take the Family Screw-Up crown from the mantle?”

"Still you, Hugo."

"You were seen with a Malfoy, Rose. Unless you're Al, I think that displaces my reign.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Rose said, grabbing her nephew as he flew by her. Jeremy, had just learned how to say “TiTi” for Auntie and was already developing the cutest Irish accent. “Me and Scorpius are just friends. We had classes together, remember? We just wanted to catch up. Don’t tell Mom.”

Of course Rose wanted him to tell her mother, Hugo couldn’t keep a secret unless he was dead. Also, he couldn’t resist doing the opposite of what she told him. It was an old theory, tested tried and true.

But she couldn’t say that.

“I won’t say anything,” he lied.”Now, do you want dinner? Fiona bought Chinese and I know how you like that all of a sudden.”

“Shut up. I'm serious, Hugo.”

No she wasn't.

Done. Step 2 of notifying the biggest gossip in the family was complete.


	5. Chapter 5

“Yeah, I'm not going to work today." Rose, top assistant to the Head of Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Spirit Division said, the morning after her Scorpius scandal. "Do you see what Skeeter's sent out there? Animals! And I only work with ghosts so...I’m waving my flag."

Molly sighed and turned to Mira, who was holding Karin, getting her ready to get dropped off at her grandparent’s house while they all went to work. Karin gnawed on a teething wand from her father gratuitously as Molly packed her baby bag.

Still in her pajamas, Rose went to the coffee maker and started to brew. Pointing the tip of her wand to Molly's coffeemaker, a stream of hot water came out and Rose allowed herself a moment to grieve. Molly’s coffee maker was shaped like a cauldron, a Christmas present that was cute but inefficient. Rose felt a pang of loss for her _own_ top of the line machine, wherever it was in this world.

"Rose, you have to leave the house." Mira pulled Karin to her feet as Rose turned to her and crossed her arms. "I know, Vani's on her honeymoon and Scorpius is at Gringotts, you'll be alone _but_ you need to show them that you're brave enough to leave. Just like we are. Just, give them a show."

"Throw the middle finger up." Molly said, laughing, always the wild child. "Literally if you want."

Rose shook her head. "I'm scared that I'll do the wrong thing."

...And the whole plan will be blown.

"Rose Weasley, you're going to work." Molly said, getting Rose's coffee for her and placing it in Rose's trembling hands. "And that's that." Rose looked at Mira and Karin, who nodded and drooled respectively. Rose nodded to herself and took a big swig of coffee, before stepping out to one thousand flashing lights.

"Rose! Look here! Tell us how how you two met!" one overweight man with a handlebar mustache took her picture. Rose just blinked as she stood there, words failing her. Molly patted her shoulder encouragingly.

“Did Albus introduce you?”

“How does Lorcan feel about this?”

"Rose, Rose, look here, tell us how Ron reacted, you've just got to!"

"Hey! Hey, Rose? Is Scorpius inside?"

Rose noticed Molly sticking her tongue out at the cameras and Karin following suit, waving her teething wand at the crowd. Mira gave them endearing looks of affection. And Rose swallowed her coffee again.

"Um guys?" Rose said. "I really have to get to work, so... I'm gonna leave now. Maybe you want to not haunt the house?" Rose ended, staring down a woman in all black. "Because honestly, my relationship with Scorpius is none of your business and we really don't want to talk to you guys today, please. And leave him alone, he really has to work. Please and thank you."

Rose rushed herself inside, feeling her body swell up. Molly smiled at her, and Mira too. Karin gurgled. Molly turned to the people on her lawn and chuckled. "Piss off, you lowlifes." And with that, she Apparated her and her daughter away.

"I've got to get to work too and so does she so..." Mira saluted the people and entered the house.

For once, the paparazzi were stunned.

+

Scorpius was in Gringotts working at his desk and missing Al when he realized that everyone was staring at him for some odd reason. Well, most of the goblins weren’t but the few other people who worked at Gringotts (legislation was getting passed to make Gringotts less of of a goblin monopoly, so they started hiring “wand-bearers” left and right in order to combat anti-diversity claims...which sparked Al’s book on goblin history and his subsequent job as curator and best friend and so on and so forth).

It wasn’t until lunch that he was able to ask any of his co-workers what was going on. He’d passed out last night after dinner with Rose and just woke up 3 hours ago for work and wanted answers.

“Oi, Babicz” Scorpius nodded at the person across from him as he ate his chicken and ham sandwich from the fridge. “Why the bloody hell is everyone looking at me like I just kissed their sister.”

Babicz’s mouth dropped. “Well...aren’t you with Rose Weasley?”

“What? No!” Scorpius scoffed. Confusion set in on Babicz’s face before Scorpius remembered the plan. Babicz opened his mouth before Scorpius could correct himself.

“Well, last night, Julie Skeeter said you guys went to Horizont Ally and--”

“Oh...right, that...well...no, Rose and I are just friends.” Scorpius said. “Don’t worry.”

“You know, this morning, Rose was on the news. Sooner or later, they’re gonna find out you work here.” Babicz smirked. “Maybe I should get camera-ready, you never know, if you actually are dating her.”

“Shut up, Babicz.”

“C’mon, Scorp, you know the camera adds 10 pounds.”

“Yeah and you’d still be mistaken for a stick.”

* * *

 

“So you didn’t get stalked or followed or had a pap shove a camera in your face?” Rose shrieked in his ear on the other end of his wand-phone at the end of the day. He chuckled as he looked at the broken Pricklypear she tripped over upon entry into his home.

“No one knows where I am or what I'm doing, Rose. I’ve been MIA for 3 years.” Scorpius reminded her. “The last time I was in the news was my 21st birthday party.” The party he and his ex Haley met Zach. The party that turned everything around. “No one knows where I live except my parents. No one knows where I work except my parents. And Al. And you.”

“Why is that, by the way?”

Scorpius swallowed. “Typical fame complex. I just couldn’t handle the pressure. I moved and everyone just assumed I kinda had a breakdown.”

He just started sending Zach enough money from his job a week to keep him at bay. He didn't need Rose knowing about how twisted his life had been years before he met her. Not as if he or she cared, because this relationship was fake. But still... he owed Zach quite a lot, and she's going to figure this out soon enough if Zach kept up with his threats to show up in his life.

“Oh, well, lucky you. This is bullshit.” Rose muttered. She was in her bedroom trying to tie her hair back. “Everyone in the office was staring at me like I was a fucking leper.”

“Well, that happened to me. But most of my co-workers are Goblins, who could not possibly care less about our petty wand-bearer gossip.” Scorpius smiled again at Rose’s frustrated groan.

“Stop gloating,” she instructed. “I think we’re gonna have to initiate phase 2 next weekend.”

“Phase 2?”

“Dating. Keep up, stupid.” Rose finally managed to coerce her hair into the hair tie. “We should go out to lunch...let’s say twice or three times this week in public. Or look like we're going to lunch. And then, next weekend...we should go out to dinner or something. And then boom, dating.”

“Even better idea. Next Sunday, Al and Parvani come back from their honeymoon. We could say we wanna throw a dinner for our best friends and then drop the bomb then while it also looks like a double date.”

“Hmm…” Rose said, looking for holes in his plan. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

“Rose--”

“Fine.” She said. “It’s a good idea. I like it.”

“Really? Well, someone call Julie Skeeter now, Rose Weasley actually liking my idea. There’s one for the books.”

“This whole thing was your idea.”

“No. Our idea. We’re partners. Plus, you never liked this idea. You just don’t have a choice.”

“...Whatever. My lunch break is at 12:30. I’ll see you, then, right? We can eat at Lucy’s new restaurant in Diagon Ally. She’s not gonna be there but it’ll be good for business.” Rose sighed as Mira’s cat, Salem, waltzed into her room. Usually, the cat slept with Molly and Mira...except when they were having sex.

“Alright Rose. I’ll see you then.” Scorpius said as she hung up on him. He pulled out his smokes and looked at them. Haley’s name poked through the box.

Haley Nott was in a word, gorgeous. She was his best friend Beth's cousin. A year below them. She went to Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts. Her parents had too many bad memories associated with Hogwarts after the war, so they moved them out to France. Whenever he went to Beth's during breaks, she was always there. Always friendly, and flirty...they knew each other. After Beth died, they both needed comfort. It was easy to let himself fall for her. She had the most beautiful long black hair, a face that was pretty in the type of way that made you think at night. And boy did he ever.

They dated for a long time. After his mother’s diagnosis, a trip to Paris because of her modeling career seemed ideal. He didn’t know how much the drug industry and the modeling industry knew of each other at that point. All he knew is that Haley wanted some pills from a dealer every other French model knew as The Duke to thin out her calves or something and came back to him high as a rocket. Then they met Zach, an amatuer, at the afterparty for his 21st birthday and the rest was history.

He got Haley off it once or twice to no avail. Whether they were in Morocco or Istanbul, she needed whatever it was Zach gave her. Working for him was her idea, just to make sure she always had a stash available--not because they needed the money. Scorpius only agreed to support her. That’s what he told himself. That he wasn’t trying to get back at his mother for almost dying, Beth for actually dying, that he wasn’t just acting out, that he didn’t like the high. But the truth was that he was weak.

The last woman he’d been with was her. The last woman he’d made lunch dates was her. The last woman he’d been engaged to was her. And she left him.

Wasn’t it funny how history repeated itself.

* * *

 

“Hello, lovely wizarding world, you are watching GossipWand UK and I’m Julie Skeeter, back with more of today’s DA Watch. First we have the beautiful Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin, Victoire holding youngest son Jonathan and Teddy holding youngest daughter Andrea, out with best friend James Potter II- seen holding the Lupin family’s eldest daughter Madeline on his shoulders. A bromance for the ages, one can even say that Victoire might be the 3rd wheel here.” Scorpius and Rose rolled both rolled their eyes.

“Thanks for letting me, Karin, and Salem stay over for a couple hours.” Rose said to Scorpius. Karin was knocked out in her carrier besides the couch, with Salem curled up near Karin’s feet, grooming herself. “Usually I’d go to Parvani’s house. But it’s their 1 year anniversary and they had that fight yesterday and I just didn’t want things to get in the way, they deserve so much. Besides it won’t take long anyway.”

“Don’t mention it.” Scorpius grunted. He cracked open a butterbeer, tossed one to her, downed his, and promptly burped. Rose scrunched up her nose at him in disdain. She turned her attention to the television.

“Albus Potter and his new bride Parvani Jordan-Weasley, daughter of radio personality Lee Jordan and Parvati Patil, prestigious professor of Divination at Ilvermorny, seem to be living it up during their adventurous honeymoon. After a visit to the Indian and Japanese Wizarding Quarters, it seems as if the pair is rounding out their trip in the Jamaican Wizarding Quarter--even catching a game of Quidditch--”

Rose looked over at Salem, who was sniffing at Scorpius’s dying PricklyPear and at Karin, who had been gripping her teething wand. Last night, Molly went into her mirror room all night with Karin, two-way mirroring with Jax Brass. Molly and Jax, lead singer of Boggart in the Cupboard and Karin’s father, talked all night even after Karin was put to bed. Mira understood, she really did, but it was strange to her just how close Jax and Molly still were. They gave each other the cold shoulder all morning that day and Rose decided to take Salem and Karin out for the night.

That was before Scorpius texted her to tune into Skeeter tonight on GossipWand. She’d been ignoring the TV and radio for days. She and Scorpius had been going out to lunch every day for the past week and a half. They’d been followed into stores, but Rose never called her dad’s security guards because the store owners often times shooed people out of their store for not buying anything. Lucy’s bakery was her favorite lunch date, forcing Scorpius to eat some Wotter Cake (cake that combined the favorite flavors of a lot of her family member’s in one and if you finished a slice, you got it free) without telling him how much peach, mint, and chocolate weren’t supposed to mix.

So she immediately brought Karin and Salem here, and was now sitting on his couch, waiting for their segment.

“The couple has not disclosed the length of their honeymoon but they are set to appear at the 9th Annual Lee Jordan Excellence in Wizarding Television Awards and the subsequent Cinema Ball next weekend, the awards ceremony named after father-in-law Lee Jordan himself, who re-pioneered the movement for Wizarding TV nearly a decade ago. And for that, we thank you Lee Jordan. Because without you, we wouldn’t be able to show you these next juicy pictures. After commercial break, Lysander and Lily talk raising twin girls and we get at you with some more Scorpius and Rose action, next after this.”

Rose sighed, stretching. She reached over for a sleeping Karin’s toy Harry Potter doll (Molly thought it was ironic) and teething wand and placed them both in the baby bag. Scorpius watched her.

“She’s cute.” Scorpius mumbled. “But I never saw you as the type of person to like babies.”

“I do. A lot.” Rose said, as Salem stalked around the couch. “I want kids. Don’t you?”

“It’s complicated. Look at the pros and cons. Con: I mean, if I don’t, the Malfoy name dies. Pro: if I don’t, the Malfoy name dies. So yeah, I’d say it’s complicated.” Scorpius downed another butterbeer. Rose hadn’t even opened hers.

“Lorcan didn’t want kids. At all.” Rose murmured. “Lorcan didn’t like them. I mean, sure, he did like them objectively. He just never wanted to have them. At least, not with me, I guess”

They looked at each other for a second, smiling wistfully before Julie Skeeter’s jingle reappeared on the screen and penetrated their thoughts.

“I know we’ve been waiting all night from this one. This past week, we’ve been catching our beloved Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, lovebirds in training, all around town while catching lunch together, shopping together, and look, they’re even starting to dress similar.”

A picture appeared of Rose and Scorpius outside Lucy’s bakery, both of them drinking their smoothies and wearing black and white with red coats. Rose rolled her eyes.

“Rose Weasley has denied any claim of a relationship, just stating that she and Scorpius are really good friends. But none of my friends and I go out to lunch everyday. Representatives from neither the Weasley camp nor the Potter camp has responded. We’re keeping our eyes on this one for next week’s special guest, Wizard matchmaker for the gods, Lindsay Jin as we analyze Scorose in the making!”

Rose nodded. “Nice momentum. Good job.”

“Thanks. You too.” Scorpius clinked his half empty bottle to her full one.

Rose looked at him, curling her leg up on his sofa. “Have you talked to your parents about it yet?”

“Just Mum.” Scorpius said. “Dad’s busy. You?”

“They don’t pay attention to gossip so I made my brother promise not to tell my parents days ago, but he did. Dad wasn’t happy. And then Mum mentioned that you and Albus are literally best friends and if we’re just friends, it shouldn’t matter and Hugo said he didn’t understand the point of yelling at me about it because it’s not gonna stop us from being friends. But I haven’t talked to them about it yet.”

Rose’s wand started to vibrate.

“It’s Molly.” Rose said, checking the time. “It’s almost midnight, so I want to believe that this is Molly calling me telling me that we can go home. And that I will see you tomorrow to welcome Al and Vani back, yeah?”

Scorpius nodded so she rose from his couch, placed Karin and Salem on the fireplace and stepped in herself. Before she could grab the Floo powder from her purse, Scorpius called out to her.  
  
“Have fun listening to the anniversary sex.” he said with a smile on his face. Rose shook her head at him, suppressing a tiny microscopic smile, one he barely caught before she disappeared and left him with her unopened Butterbeer.

 


	6. Chapter 6

“I missed you so much!” Rose screamed the moment Vani and Al appeared in the living room of their flat. Vani squealed and jumped into Rose’s hug.

Albus gave Scorpius the biggest shit-eating grin. Scorpius shook his head but then immediately pulled Al into a hug, because he’d missed Albus so much this past week and a half and he wasn't ashamed to say it. Work was completely dead without him.

“How was it? You have to tell me all about it.” Rose said, taking residence on the yellow couch. Parvani smiled at her and started launching stories about Albus’s first time on a flying carpet in India, her first overseas Quidditch game, riding a bird in Japan, and the beach in Jamaica.

“How was it?” Scorpius said suggestively. Albus would have usually blushed at him sheepishly, but not this time. Albus looked him in the eye and smiled.

“I’m a changed man.”  Albus said. “Honeymoons are great. You should get one.”

“Should I?” Scorpius teased. Albus shook his head and laughed. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. Unless there’s something I should know about who it’s with. Like, I don’t know, my cousin?”

“You’re right. I’m definitely gonna marry Rose." Oh, the sweet taste of irony would never get old. Scorpius chuckled. "You’re mad, Albus.”

“Scorpius. There’s gossip overseas. People still talk.”Albus smiled at him from ear to ear. Scorpius shook his head at him, the goof. “Are you two an item or what? You gonna go to the Cinema Ball with her?”

Scorpius had forgotten that Albus invited him to that. Shit.

“Um...that depends on Rose. That’s all I’m gonna say.” Scorpius rubbed his neck. Albus’s mouth all but dropped. Scorpius shoved him as Albus pressed him for details.

+

“Anyway, enough about Jamaica, you are coming, right?” Parvani had a sly smirk on her face in response to the confusion on Rose’s.”To Dad’s Awards and the Cinema Ball this weekend? You’re both scheduled to be going. I don’t remember if it's in New York or London this year, and I don’t care. You’re going, right?”

Rose had forgotten about those. Shit. What would that say, Rose going without Scorpius? His parents get invited out of courtesy but never go. Her parents wouldn’t be there, they were visiting her Mum’s parents who were really sick. Her Aunt Ginny was in Africa to report for the All-Africa Quidditch Cup, and her uncle Harry was on an Auror mission for another 2 weeks. The worse she would have to face would be her Uncle George, Bill, and Percy...mainly her Uncle George, if they even go. Fate was literally lined up for them to go together.

“You’re both going, right?” Vani said, reading her mind. “Scorpius was invited by Al already.”

“Yeah. So I guess so.” Rose muttered. Vani gave her a skeptical look.

“Are you gonna go together?” Vani sang, like this was a Yule Ball or the Halloween After-Party at Hogwarts or something else childish like that. Rose scoffed at her. “Oh come off it, Rose, I’ve seen the news. You two like each other.”

“Hardly...maybe...look, it's a complicated situation.” Rose shrugged. “We might go, we might not.”

“You’re going, Rose. It’s me and Al’s first event as a married couple and you and Scorpius’s first event as lovers and post-Lorcan. This is a milestone. We’re going to embrace it.”

Well, Vani gave her no room to argue. Rose swallowed and hoped Scorpius was on board. 

* * *

Passing through Hogsmeade with Scorpius, Molly, Mira, Vani, and Al the day before they were set to leave for New York was actually a lot of fun. They’d gone out to eat at Three Broomsticks, where there was an Anti-Paparazzi Charm and boatloads of security. Rose made the mistake of choosing the booth in the corner where the TV was not tuned into tonight’s Quidditch match but tuned into GossipWand. Wizarding Matchmaker, Lindsay Jin, was on there. She’d forgotten about her. Scorpius and Mira groaned out loud at the sight, Molly and Al laughed at Rose’s misfortune, and Vani craned her head to look.

“Thank you for having me, Julie. I just want to say, first of all, that I have been loving this fairly recent development. But first things first, let me give everyone a quick timeline. Rose and Scorpius both attend the Potter-Jordan wedding last February, and the next day are seen eating in Horizont Alley. The next day, Rose denies any sort of romantic entanglement. But here, we see our subjects out together at the family bakery, at The Hopping Pot, the Leaky Cauldron, and twice more at the bakery all in the span of a week.”

“So Lindsay, come on, tell me. Is this just 2 friends or something more?”

“Well, Julie, I don’t exactly know. Half of me feels that this is just old wizarding gossip, you know: wishful thinking? But the other half of me cannot deny the attraction. I mean look at this picture for example, where Rose and Scorpius are both angled toward each other and she’s pointing at his menu.”

Scorpius remembered that moment. She’d been berating him for his choice of the jelly roll and ordered that he picked something else, leading him to roll his eyes. He had no idea that a moment like that could be interpreted as affectionate.

“It almost feels different with Scorpius, more careful and definitely more cautious. I don’t know, Julie, if that’s necessarily a good or a bad thing. It’s almost as if they’re afraid to kiss or touch, which is clearly inconsistent with both of their romantic profiles. ”

“I do agree, I’ve got to say, we’ve seen more affection with some of Rose’s other male friends, most notably Lorcan Scamander in the early days of their courtship.”

Rose sighed as a picture of her and Lorcan at a Hogwarts grad party for Lily and Hugo about 3 years ago, right after they started dating. His arm was wrapped around her, and she was holding onto his hand with the other hand on his knee. Scorpius whistled and she shoved him.

“It’s strange, isn’t it.  But given the namesakes of both of these stars, one could only imagine why they would prefer to keep the PDA down. Well, it seems that this is all the time we have. Lindsay, thank you so much for your efforts and we’ll see you back here tomorrow, for more analysis on our lovely DA Couples. See you next time!”

Fuck. Rose looked down at her Fishy Green Ale, dejected.

“Hey, Rose.” Scorpius said from his spot beside her, pulling her thoughts away from Julie Skeeter. “It’s nothing. Just a spot of gossip, who cares.”

“Yeah, no one needs to know you two’s business. Not before we do.” Molly joked, mouth full of chicken leg. “Right, guys?”

“Oi, don’t worry about it, yeah?”

“Less gossip, more ham and butterbeer.”

“I agree.”

“Can we get ice cream after this?”

+

"This isn't weird." Scorpius said, licking his Bat's Blood ice cream. Rose sighed, wrapping her scarf around her neck as photographers snapped pictures of them from a distance. She chewed on her chocolate wand thoughtfully. She'd gotten the Witches Cauldron Sundae, which was banana ice cream, fudge flies, and a complimentary Choco-Wand with a nougat core. It wasn't her favorite but it was worth a try. "I’m on a triple date with 2 Weasleys and 2 Potters less than 24 hours before I announce to the world that I’m dating one of them. This isn't weird at all."

“Hey! Don’t forget about Mira.” Rose smiled. 

“And a Corner. Nope. Not weird at all.”

Albus and Parvani were still sampling flavors, or rather feeding each other spoons of samples. Mira and Molly had run into a friend at the reguster and were held up inside, while Scorpius and Rose moved outside to eat. The snow on the ground and the clear night sky was perfect and picturesque.  Rose offered Scorpius a bite of her wand. He grabbed her hand and guided it towards his mouth. After releasing her hand, he began to touch the tip of his pointer finger to the remaining four repeatedly. Rose observed and looked up at him.

"What's this?" Rose said, holding his hand up.

"I...sometimes...I get nervous around so many cameras and people." Scorpius shrugged, looking down sheepishly. "It's this nervous tick I have, I can stop, it’s just--."

"You can’t stop a tick, Scorpius. Does that happen often?" Rose asked, taking a scoop of ice cream.

"I mean...only when I get scared. It calms me down. Reminds me that things are okay." Scorpius looked above her head at the camera lights. "I don't know why, really."

Rose tilted her head to the side, looked back at the cameras for a second and realized that Scorpius just hasn’t seen this many cameras all at once in a while. When they go out to lunch, it's different because there's no Anti-Paparazzi Charm on the streets of London and they can't even see some of them who know how to disguise themselves. Fame was different for him.

Rose looked back at him, wanting him to stop being ashamed of this. She knew anxiety when she saw it. Sure, she'd taken that mandatory sensitivity training that all the Ministry workers had to take under her mom.  But it was more than that.

She knew the nights when her father would hear a loud noise and suddenly be unable to trust anybody in the room, when her mother was in political turmoil and people used to shout "Mudblood" at her and her family and she would break down at night just looking at the scar on her arm. She or Hugo would sneak for a midnight snack but would instead find her mother breathing deeply into a paper bag and know immediately to get her father.

And Dad would never hold her--said it made her feel suffocated and not safe. But he’d hold her hands if she let him, just barely ghosting over them. And he’d tell her that she was okay, sometimes made her read something in the room. She herself hadn’t experienced them in a long time, not since she sobered up.

That’s what she knew about anxiety.

Rose looked up at him and calmly grabbed Scorpius’s hand, the hand that was pressing his pointer finger to his other fingers,and brought it up to rest between them. Quickly, before he could protest, she intertwined her fingers with his. The camera flashes grew more intense. Scorpius could feel his heart beating faster...but he kept his gaze trained on Rose’s steady eyes.

"Does this make you feel better?" Rose asked, her face devoid of any overwhelming emotion. “I can stop, if you want.”

"No.I mean, yes. Very." Scorpius didn't hesitate to answer her.

"Then it's okay." Rose shrugged, taking another bite of her wand as she led them towards where Al and Vani were sitting. A gaggle of photographers hollered at them but they were silenced by the Jinx. Rose was rather glad for that. "Good publicity too."

Scorpius sighed, grateful she didn't mind the lie. I mean, as far as lies went, this wasn't the biggest lie he's told Rose. It was partially true, human contact did make him feel better when he got bouts of anxiety. Recovering addicts of some of the stronger Wizarding drugs all had common symptoms of withdrawal and their own distinct thing when it came to withdrawal. Babicz hands shook violently, Beth used to count to 10 and take a breath compulsively, and he knew that Haley (when she pretended to quit from time to time) sometimes pulled out her hair.

Mira and Molly eventually came to find them outside, carrying a take-away tin of No-Melt Ice Cream for Karin. Al and Vani also reappeared quickly and talked to them about their trip more. Rose continued to hold Scorpius’s hand.

“We have talked for hours about our honeymoon, and I’m tired.” Albus yawned. “Tell me about you guys.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” Rose shrugged nonchalantly. “Haven’t the faintest idea what you mean.”

“You’re holding hands!” Molly protested and pointed to their entwined hands. “Right in front of me. You’re even doing that thumb thing you do.”

It was true that Rose was rubbing her thumb against Scorpius’s palm as a show of comfort. Rose turned to Scorpius for an out.

“We’re getting to know each other, Al. It’s been 2 weeks.” he protested.

“Well, at least tell us how you’re getting to know each other?” Vani said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Gross." Al winced.

“Well, primarily it goes like this.” Rose turned to Scorpius and put on an exaggerated voice. “Scorpius, dear, what’s your favorite movie? Mine’s _The Uric Movie_ , I saw it with Lily and Rox last summer and it was great.”

“Oh neat-o, Rose.” Scorpius followed in that same exaggerated sarcasm. “Mine is either the _Loony Nonby_ superhero movies or the _Durmstrang 5_ \--you know, the movie about 5 people who almost died in the Durmstrang Triwizard Tragedy that came out a while ago.”

“Wow, just lovely. Favorite color? Mine’s black to wear, but green in general.”

Mira groaned. “Okay, we get it. You’re not gonna talk.”

“Oh, definitely green. Favorite cousin?”

“Me, obviously.” Molly said at the same time Albus squawked in protest.

“Hey!” Al said, shoving Scorpius’s side. Rose laughed and turned to Scorpius.

“Hmm...I’m gonna do my favorite things about them, okay? I love Molly, obviously, because we live together. James, Albus, and Fred are like brothers to me--Albus the annoying twin, of course. Roxanne and Dom are hilarious. Louis and Vic wear the coolest clothes. Lucy is so sweet and Lily..smells nice and made Wizard Twitter, so...there, your turn.”

“I only have Jasper, Queenie and Olive from my Mom’s side. They live in America and went to Ilvermorny. I haven’t seen them since I was a kid. Alright...favorite...band? The Bent-Winged Snitches.”

“Spellbound, hands down.” Rose smiled. “What's your--”

“Okay, fine, make fun.” Albus huffed. “Parv and I are gonna go get some take-away ice cream.”

“Right, and Rose, you reminded me. I’m gonna make a stop by Dominic Maestro’s and buy Boggarts in the Cupboard’s new poster to hang in Kar’s room. Well not buy, since the owner knows I have a child with one of the band members, but you know what I mean.” Molly nodded to Mira. “Come with?”

“No, um, I gotta go buy more nettle tea. Helps with the burns.” Mira said.

“The life and times of a dragon-tamer’s girlfriend.” Molly sighed, pretending to be distraught.

“Hey. Don’t learn too much about each other before we get back.” Vani rolled her eyes at Rose good-naturedly before pressing a kiss on her head and rejoining Albus. Rose turned to Scorpius.

“Ok, look Scorpius, I've been thinking about the Cinema Ball. You think we can do this?

“Rose...” he protested. “We can totally do this.”

"Unless you're not ready and don’t want to. Unless you're not sure or you want to back out because of the fame and the pressure. I...I could totally understand." Rose let go of his hand and wiped her hand on her pants, taking the last spoonful of her pumpkin ice cream. Scorpius's brow furrowed and he looked at her, confused.

"Rose? Is there something you want to say?" Scorpius said.

“It’s more public than we originally planned. What if we’re in over our heads? Then what?”

Scorpius sighed. “That isn’t happening.”

“But it might! What if Julie Skeeter is right and we don’t have what it takes to--”

“Rose.” Scorpius grabbed her other hand. “Rose, what are we?”

Rose’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Are you really asking me what we are right now? Come on, Scorpius be serious for once, this is--”

“Just answer the question.”

“Well,” Rose shrugged, with a tiny hint of a smile on her lips. “You said it yourself, we’re partners.”

“Alright, that’s all I need to know.” Scorpius said. “I couldn’t pull this off with just anybody. This isn’t just some silly plan, okay? I’m serious about this and I need to know you are too.” Scorpius grabbed her hand and held it in his.

“I am.” Rose answered immediately.

“You never talk about what you want much.” Scorpius looked her in the eye before shifting his gaze to her hand.  “What do you want?”

Unweaving their fingers, he placed her hand in his before he bent down to kiss the surface of it. Rose rolled her eyes to hide the jolt he sparked. Fuck.

“Hey, guys, I’m back--whoa! Okay, I know you said you refused to talk about this, but COME ON!”


	7. Chapter 7

“Look, I know I promised no more negative doubt-talk before we left but I would just like to reiterate that I am unsure if we can do this.” Rose said as they entered the Jarvey Hotel in New York. Albus, Parvani, Rose, and Scorpius were supposed to be staying here for the Jordan Awards and the subsequent Cinema Ball, which went back and forth from being in New York one year and London the next. And Rose was currently freaking out.

Security ushered Albus and Parvani in one elevator and Scorpius and Rose into the other. Rose sighed and looked up at him. He seemed calm, which bugged her more. She did not want to be the one falling apart in this scenario.

“Hello! Are you even listening? I’m having all sorts of doubts down here.” Rose shoved him. He barely moved.

“I hear you. I’m choosing to ignore them.” Scorpius whispered to her. “We’re gonna be fine.”

“Do you think press already saw us?” she whispered as they flew up the elevator. Scorpius didn’t answer, choosing to ignore her again.

“Oh great,you’re no use at all.” Rose threw her hands up, stomping out of the elevator when it stopped. Security lead them to Room 1714 and Room 1716. Scorpius and Rose were right across from each other. Wordlessly handing them keys, Rose and Scorpius were quickly left alone when security decided to do a floor sweep.

Scorpius looked at her, staring her down. “Are you done?”

Rose crossed her arms. “We aren’t ready, Scorpius. There’s reporters here, there’s celebrities here, my family is out there. This isn’t just Molly and Mira or Al and Vani, this is everyone. I know my limits Scorpius.”

Scorpius looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

“Yes, now, I’m done.”

“Alright, good, see you at 5:30."

+

Vani, Lucy, and what Rose could only assume as the rest of the girls here knocked on her door around 5 o’clock. Rose had just finished trying to tame the curls around her head, trying to keep the frizz down.

Rose opened her door and was ambushed. What she thought was Dominique almost toppled her over.

“Sorry, Rose, you were the only one with a single room! Teddy and I are rooming with Dom and Marc because they’re too cheap to exist in this world and they insist that they need time to watch some stupid Winged Horse Race--I don't know.” Victoire squawked from her position in the mirror, tugging up her orange and purple ensemble--an outfit that would only look good on Vic. Rose rolled her eyes but allowed Fred’s wife Kimberly to fuss over her hair.

“Rosie, this is going to be the most fun ever had at Cinema Ball since the year that Aunt Ginny had to present the award to James’s ex.” Molly snorted.

“Which one?”

“Paige Yarrow.”

“Oh, you mean, current girlfriend. I stayed with James last night in his New York flat, right? Saw her making herself toast this morning.” Lily pointed out. Her nude dress robes were covering long ball gown in a very similar nude color. Lily looked in the mirror and picked at herself for a second before sighing and turning towards Vic, who started applying eyeliner on her with her wand.

“What happened to Gregory Watenga? From the Patagona Proudsticks? James introduced us to him when Uganda played the qualifying match. Could’ve sworn James was drooling.” Vic said,deep in concentration. Dom giggled from her place tying Molly's robes. They all rolled our eyes, except Lily, who would if she could.

“Out with it, Dom.” Molly grumbled, looking at her violet pantsuit in the mirror. Dom giggled to herself as she brushed Vani’s hair.

“Trust me, James was definitely riding that Proudstick.” Dom said almost immediately. We all groaned as she giggled to herself.

“Greg couldn’t handle the pressure, apparently.” Lily sighed, like she didn’t believe it. Kimberly started using her wand to even out Lily’s eyeliner.

“Well, being out and proud in the All-Africa Quidditch League and on the Uganda national team is one thing. But dating a Potter--Harry Potter’s firstborn son, at that, is a whole new level.” Kimberly shook her head.

“Well the second-born son isn’t so easy either.” Parvani chimed in. “Totally makes sense.”

“Honestly, I think that the pressure thing is gonna be James’s excuse forever.” Rose finally said. “I think that he knows Paige just uses him for fame and that’s why he goes back to her every time.”

“Bisexual James was a surprise, yes, but he’s still James.” Molly said in her best WizLGBT spokesperson voice. “Uncle Charlie incarnate.”

“Oh, I wasn’t surprised. I don’t think Aunt Ginny was either.” Lucy shrugged. “Maybe Julie Skeeter’s expose on his and Teddy’s torrid love affair had some merit.”

Vic rolled her eyes. Lily placed a hand on over her mouth, trying to hide her laugh. Last year after the European Quidditch Awards, almost seconds after James was found snogging Ian Weinstein--Quidditch player from the Cannons (which was quite awkward for Rose’s dad)--he came out as bisexual to everyone. Minutes after that, Julie Skeeter published an expose on all of James’s relationships--insinuating heavily that he and Teddy were lovers for years. It was a family joke now, but Victoire probably would kill Julie Skeeter if left alone with her for 5 minutes.

“Oh, don’t worry, Vic.” Dom said teasingly. “It can’t be possible. James definitely has a type and it’s definitely Quidditch players. Teddy couldn’t stay on a broom if his life depended on it.”

“That’s reassuring and all but speaking of torrid and forbidden secret taboo romance…” Vic sang in her direction with a shark-like smile on her face.

“Rose, are you about to Star Walk with Scorpius Malfoy?” Lucy looked at her suspiciously over the feathers in her robes.

The whole room quieted. Vani looked at her apologetically and Rose groaned. They knew. Fuck. Well, it was a matter of time anyway.

Rose bit her lip. Merlin, did she hate moments like this, she hated the spotlight. She much prefered to lay low and let them all just talk and her to observe, to chime in every once in awhile. That was much more her speed.

“I mean...we’re both walking...so at some point, maybe we’ll be walking...quote unquote together...but who’s to say?” Rose hoped that would suffice. It didn’t.

“Rose, I would personally like to thank you for allowing a Malfoy into the mix. Think of the drama. The publicity. Plus, that boy is too good looking for his own good. The children, think of the children. If you don’t marry him, I will.” Dominique, who always had a taste for bad boys, fanned herself.

“You’re married, dimwit.” Victoire reminded her, strapping on orange stilettos.

“Rose, if you don’t marry him, Lucy will.”

“Oi!”

“Oh, take one for the team, Luce! If you and Rose think that I am willing to stand by and let those sculpted cheekbones and that _perfectly rounded_ arse pass our genes by, you’re just plain mad. Think of the children.” Dominique said, tying up Lucy’s silky white dress, dress robes from her own collection. They were all wearing from Dom’s collection, as a show of solidarity except Dom herself in a dragonhide ensemble Mira would hate. Wearing her own clothes would be tacky according to her.

“You’re tragic.” Victoire said, laughing.

Vani gave Rose an apprehensive smile,worried about her first married appearance. Rose grabbed her hand to reassure her.

“Alright, let’s go... also I hope you lot don’t think I’m kidding about the Scorpius thing.” Dominique scoffed. “No one tell Marc.”

* * *

Scorpius had never been to a Star Carpet event before. All he knew was that instead of a Muggle red carpet, the carpet was pitch black, except for the illusion of the galaxy magicked into it, where wizarding celebrities walk.

He and Haley had been to many events before due to her modeling career but Witch Weekly  fashion shows were nowhere near a Star Carpet. Thinking of where he was now, he couldn’t help but see the difference. Instead of being conked out on someone’s couch in Paris, he was in New York with his could-be girlfriend Rose Weasley and his best friend, Albus Potter. Life was fucking weird.

He was alone in his room, trying not to think of his situation and how he got here. It was almost fate in a way, the day he fell into bed with Rose Weasley. How strange it was that he went to  school with them for 7 years of his life and he never saw her or Albus until now and they were now two of the most important people in his life.

To Scorpius, Albus was everything good in the world. He was genuine and honest and trusted with his whole heart without allowing people to take too much advantage of him. How he managed to keep humbled and committed while being the son of the Boy Who Lived made Scorpius jealous. He was the direct descendants of Death Eaters and still couldn’t shake the whole bullshit concept of legacy sometimes.  Having someone like Albus inspired anyone to be better.

And that was the frustrating part. Albus wanted him to be better which made him want to be better which made him end up planning to manipulate the whole wizarding community, including his best friend, with his said best friend’s cousin to get out of gambling debt with a drug ring. Did the ends really justify the means or was that just fate?

A knock at the door took Scorpius away from his thoughts. When he answered the door, he saw a smiling Albus Potter.

“You ready, mate?” he said, peering past him to look in the mirror and straighten the tie on his olive green suit and dress robes.

And for a second, just a second, Scorpius almost opened his mouth to tell Albus. Not just about his situation with Rose but about all of it. But everything. About his mother’s scarf collection being more than a fashion statement. About how Beth gave him an Edible Dark Mark one night in first year and he cried when no one was looking but the next day she somehow knew to say sorry. About how how the last time he saw her, he gave her a lighter and he somehow knew to say goodbye. How followed Haley to Paris because he was really just running away. How the drugs started to make him feel everything and nothing all at once and that was the shit he missed the most some days before he let Rose and her stupid, complicated unspoken rules about yet another fucked up arrangement he was in distract him--and he liked it.

He wanted to tell Albus everything.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he shook his head at Albus and took one last look at his own blue suit and dress robes he rented from the thrift store before telling Albus “come on you wanker, before Parvani leaves without you”.

“Oi! You must mean before Rose leaves without you.” Albus jeered. “She’s way more likely to do that instead of Vani, that’s for sure.”

“Me and Rose aren’t--”

“Scorpius.” Albus shook his head. “You’re a lot of things--my best mate, a good bank teller, a simple man--but you’re not that good a liar.”

Dammit.

“I know you and Rose are walking together.” Albus shrugged. “I know you and Rose are probably dating. You can call it hanging out or getting to know each other--whatever you want. But I just wanna tell you, I called it.”

The elevator doors opened. They stepped in, Scorpius in shocked silence.

“What if I ruin her life?” Scorpius said to no one in particular. “I know you think I’m a good guy, Al, but what if...what if I’m not good enough for her? What if the ways that I’m good aren’t the same as--”

“Doesn’t matter.” Albus turned to him. “The Weasley-Potters are easy, really. All they want you to do is care. And I can tell Scorpius that you care about Rose if you’re willing to go public with her dad and your grandad still in possession of a wand.”

The elevator door opened and neither of them moved for a second. Albus’s smile filled him with courage...but also guilt.

Parvani spotted Albus from across the hall, where everyone was lined up in order to get to Carnia Hall. She hiked up her skirt and rushed through the crowd to greet him, nervousness painted on both of their faces before he Side-Alonged them away. Stars had various ways to make entrances: enchanted cars, good old Apparition, and the Floo Moon, which was basically a giant fireplace shaped like a moon that led to the Star Walk.

“I hate Apparition.” Rose said to him before they left for New York. “We’re probably gonna be in the line for the Floo Moon forever but that’s okay with me. We’re already gonna have enough attention as it is.”

Waiting downstairs with the other non-DA wizarding stars, many of them chatted amongst themselves as he got in line, barely paying attention to him. He didn’t know if they were just unaware of his connection to Rose beyond Albus or if this was the normal greeting, but either way was okay with him.

The elevator dinged and security brought forth Rose. Many of the celebrities gasped at Rose’s dress, pulling her into long hugs and telling her they had to catch up later and were dying to talk to her. She greeted them all politely but  he knew she was intent on coming towards him. Scorpius almost choked on his spit as Rose approached him, in front of everybody. She smiled at him awkwardly, denoting discomfort.

She was wearing this long dark blue velvet dress with pockets, with wavy hair and dark red lipstick. Rose loved Dom's fashion, but it seemed like all her clothes were just tight. Sometimes, she thinks she let herself go since she and Lorcan broke up. She was... bigger than she used to be and she wasn't as naturally and or genetically fit as Dom or Vic (never was, never will be), as petite as 5 feet tall Lily (again, never), nor as "toned from years of Quidditch" like Roxanne and Parvani. In fact, she, Molly, and Lucy now all fit under the same category as _curvier_ than most of the family. It was all the coffee she had begun to drink and food she had begun to eat, as a replacement for the liquor- and only liquor she used to down like Niagara Falls. But no one needed to know about any of that.  

The dress hugged her body in a way that seemed wholly unfamiliar. All her previous dresses at Cinema Ball were just average knee-length dresses, this was a much more dramatic look. Rose looked up at Scorpius, who was watching her walk over. Heads turned when people saw them standing together. Scorpius held out his arm for her and she took it gingerly, squeezing it with nervousness as they waited to step into the Floo Moon.

"You look good." Scorpius said.

"Don't say that." Rose replied nervously.

With everyone whispering about them, Rose looked up at Scorpius.

"What, Rose?"

“You have a stain right here. _Scourgify_.” she pointed out on the collar of his suit and wandlessly got rid of the stain. Of course that would be one of the charms she knew without wand. 

“I was eating macaroni--What, am I not allowed to eat at these things?”

“You are, but why would you eat macaroni in an expensive suit?”

“Rose, this suit is rented.”

“Why would you eat macaroni in an expensive suit you have to give back? Even worse.” 

“You’re insufferable. Are we really arguing at a time like this?”

“Shut up, it's my defense mechanism...oh, smile! We’re next.”

* * *

 

The moment Rose and Scorpius stepped on the Star Walk, approximately 3 things happened.

Rose Weasley realized that without a doubt, there was no turning back from this.

Scorpius Malfoy realized that, more than anything, he hoped that Zach wasn’t watching.

And the wizarding world all collectively gasped all at the same time.


	8. Chapter 8

_“Rose! Scorpius!_

_“Does Ron know?”_

_“Did Albus introduce you?”_

_“Do the carpets match the drapes?”_

Holding hands, Rose dragged Scorpius into the Carnia Ballroom, almost pulling her hair out. She had kept up a good facade in front of cameras and reporters, answering questions and holding onto his arm for dear life. So much so, he had to make sure she left no claw marks. But he could tell that there was something off about Rose.

Once inside the ballroom, Rose detached herself from him and sighed. They were the first ones inside, and they were supposed to be seated with Al and Parvani, who were still outside talking about marital bliss and the snake zoos in India. Rose huffed.

“I can’t believe we lied to that many people.” Rose swallowed, fanning her face. Scorpius blinked at her. “I just can’t believe it.”

Scorpius turned to her, putting his hand on her arms slightly. Once she eased into that touch, he leaned down on her level and brushed foreheads with her. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath.

“Don’t develop a conscience on me now, Rose.” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”

“I know, it’s just that--” Rose tried to speak but he shushed her, interjecting quickly.

“No Rose, it’s okay. Look at me. It’s okay. Alright, tell me it’s okay.” He rubbed her arms, prompting her to make a noise. Rose looked up at him.

“...It’s okay.”  She whispered.

"Well, well, well... looky here, James." a voice drew out behind them and Rose turned to look at the source immediately, her eyes wide. She realized her... ahem, quite intimate position with Scorpius, who smirked down at her and she pushed him away, looking for the voice who just spoken. It was Fred, who had a hand wrapped around his girl Kimberly, with James not too far behind. Rose could tell that they had been pregaming. Kimberly caught Rose’s eye and tried to pull Fred away, but it was too late. James was alerted.

"Indeed, Fred. It seems like my second-in-command has gone off and gotten a man." James said, appearing behind Fred with a drink umbrella in his hair, smiling.

Rose smiled back and ran into his arms. James lifted her up and swayed her around, like he was greeting someone who ran off to war. Fred smiled at this display, before turning to Scorpius, who watched the whole thing with raised eyebrows.

"Don't be jealous. That's her cousin, her second-favorite. I'm the first." he said mischievously, grinning at him, before shaking his hand firmly in the strangest handshake he's ever seen. His girl laughed and introduced herself as “Kimberly, the baby mama” before dragging Fred away from them.

"Oh, and shut up Fred." Rose said to Fred’s back and obscene hand gesture, feet now on the ground.

"Yeah Fred, you know Al has that spot on reserve." James said, ruffling her hair. He turned to Scorpius, eyes narrowed and glaring. Rose bit her lip, scurrying back to Scorpius’s side.

After a nice long silence, James couldn't take it anymore and cracked a grin, which exploded in the most genial laughter Scorpius has ever heard. Rose sighed a sigh of relief and smiled at her cousin. James was wheezing and he could barely talk.

"I'm sorry mate... I just couldn't help it." James backed Scorpius in some type of bro-hug, which left him just as confused as Fred's greeting had. Scorpius was literally speechless. But that was okay here, because they could fill any silence.

"I figured, Uncle Ron won't go that easy on you, so why complicate things, you know? You want a shot, yeah? Shots for everyone!" James said, grinning cheekily. Rose rolled her eyes, catching Scorpius's look which looked comically terrified. To Scorpius, who still hadn't uttered a word. He expected cold, snarky, and distant. Not warm, funny, and friendly. This was killing him.

"Anyway, Scorpio, if you wanna meet the rest of the clan, we’ll be by the bar." James said, almost skipping back by the bar where Teddy was. Rose twisted the bracelet on her wrist anxiously, trying to be discreet about freaking out.

“Rose, are you okay?” Scorpius said, hands shoved in his pockets. Rose looked around before answering.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Like...you’ve met James. That’s a big deal. That’s a milestone. This is progress. And.....it’s just...I never really thought...we’d get this far. ”

“Because you have no faith in me,” Scorpius joked.

“Exactly.” Rose said, nodding. Scorpius glowered at her. “It’s just...now I’m afraid, Scorpius. The stakes got so much higher...what if we lose?”

He didn’t answer her because moments later, they were signalled that broadcast was about to start in five minutes. Also, in bounded actor Stephen Munswell and tiny Lily--ethereal in peach--who pulled Rose away from him.

Albus entered, patting him on the back, with a sparkle in his eye. Vani placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered a “Congratulations” that left a guilty taste on his mouth..

+

10 minutes later, it was time for the Opening Roast. This year, surprisingly, instead of the usual up and coming comedian, Lee Jordan and his wife took the stage which led to hilarious cut-away shots to their 4 children either laughing or dying of embarrassment.

It started off with Parvati’s account on how Lee’s push for wizarding television begun, which Parvati described as Lee waking up in the middle of the night, proclaiming that he was gonna make wizard TV, and then going back to bed versus Lee’s account where George Weasley bet him that if his 4th kid was a boy, he’d have to actually go through with the idea of making wizarding TV or name his son Jordan George Jordan. Vani’s brother Amir rolled his eyes.

Then began the roast. Parvati roasted Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny for not being there (“When they RSVP’d to not come, they actually checked a 3rd box at the bottom which read in fine print, ‘sorry mate, got better things to do’. Which, for the Minister for Magic, an international sports reporter, The Boy Who Lived, and a Bulgaria fan...makes perfect sense”). Rose and Hugo were both caught in tears.

“But, while we do miss their couple times on the Star Walk, we must admit that their offspring do not disappoint.” Parvati smiled. “Our youngest daughter Parvani is here with our new son-in-law Albus. Although new is relative. They’ve been together since 5th year Hogwarts, people, I could have sworn they were already married. When he came to Lee and asked for Parvani’s hand, we both looked at each other and for a second, we thought about saying no...just to mess with him. But how could we say no when you’ve been together for 8 years, 11 months, and 13 days---”

“Not like anyone’s counting.” Lee said. “Also, another lovely couple, I see James Potter with his Hogwarts sweethearts Fred Weasley and Teddy Lupin. Starting early on the bar boys? No other way to do it.”

“Oh, and another couple...right up front here.” Scorpius dropped his head sheepishly as Rose smiled awkwardly.

“Lee and I decided that the jokes for this one were too easy.”

“As they literally started to write themselves.”

“So, Scorpius...Rose… before we start the show, we just want to thank you for 1) finally validating the Skeeter family...a rough job but someone’s gotta do it and 2) keeping the Cinema Ball’s viewership up. I’m pretty sure every witch and wizard within 1000 miles of Ron Weasley can hear his head exploding, so they know to tune in.”

The laughter in the room was contagious, except for Rose who placed her head in her hands to hide her red face.

* * *

During the third commercial break, Rose excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Rose messed around with her bracelet again. Trying not to think about how close she and Scorpius were getting to their goal. It was scary. It was making her feel guilty. She felt like they could get caught at any moment and she didn’t like how this was making her feel. She didn’t like pretending. It hurt to be this fake about intimate things. All she wanted was a drink, but she knew she couldn’t have one, and it was just so tiring.

Rose passed the main bathroom and went downstairs to the lesser used bathroom, where she would go to throw up if she'd had a bit too much the past years she attended the Cinema Ball. It was virtually empty, just her and the floating soap dispenser. She immediately felt like everything was too big, so she rushed towards a stall.

Rose suddenly feel everything grow smaller, as if she was shrinking. She hoped that this wasn’t a panic attack, but her gut let her know that it was.

It wasn’t. It just felt like one. She had opened the stall in the abandoned bathroom and _of course_ , a Boggart popped out. Her Boggart was very, very similar to her mother’s. Except instead of being a professor giving her a failing grade, it _was_ her mother giving her a failing grade--a  young version of her mother, always at her age, sneering at her...while voices in the background hissed things like “Not good enough.”

She and Albus also had similar ones. Albus’s was his father, in Gryffindor robes, telling him that he wishes he wasn’t his son.

It was a good thing that she and Albus were good at Charms.

Rose reached for her wand in her back pocket, where it always is, but realized that she’d been in such a rush to leave that she’d forgotten her wand at the table. And she didn't know how to do this spell wandlessly, especially when she was already in an overwhelmed mindset.

She put her back to the Boggart and tried to breath but she felt like air was suddenly out of patience for her. She had to be better than this, be stronger than this, there was no turning back but she felt like there were hands wrapped around her neck and pushing her down. She was on the brink of failure someway somehow, which terrified her greatly and this fucking Boggart wasn’t helping. She almost felt like crying because she felt like either way she was failing someone whether it be Scorpius or her dad or fans, someone.

_Almost._

Rose turned and slid to the floor in front of the Boggart, having nothing else to do.

“Rose? Rose! Roooooooooose, are you in here?” she heard a male voice say outside the door. Hugo. “The barmaid said she saw you come down here. The awards are starting again soon. It’s creepy down here and a ghost tried to get my number. Come on, are you okay? Rose?”

Rose didn’t answer and focused on not crying, looking up at her mother, who laughed at her dismissively and began to taunt her.“Pathetic, silly girl.” was the new chant now.

“Rose?” a second voice. Hugo must have gotten Scorpius. “I know that’s you! Are you okay?” Scorpius listened outside of the door.

“Go away,” Rose cried feebly, at both her Boggart and Scorpius. Her voice caught as she swallowed the hard lump in her throat.

“Rose! I’m coming in, okay?”

Scorpius entered the room, with his eyes peeking from behind his hand. The Boggart immediately turned his head to him, and mirrored his grandfather exposing his Dark Mark, his father exposing his Dark Mark and finally Scorpius right back to him--hair now platinum blonde and exposing a Dark Mark of his own.

It switched back from Hermione to Dark Mark Draco to both of them side by side, clearly confused or split into two. Rose wasn’t paying attention.

 _“Riddikulus."_ Scorpius said, lazily.

All of a sudden, Hermione and Draco turned to one another, bickering in the same way that Rose and Scorpius often did. Hermione hexed Draco to have a pumpkin over his head, Draco hexed Hermione’s mouth shut with a zipper, Hermione hexed him into a ferret.

Scorpius snorted, which was enough to make the dual Boggarts retreat.

He turned his attention to Rose, who sat on the bathroom floor, with her head resting against the wall. She protested his entrance wholeheartedly, ignoring him, as she was too busy willing herself not to cry.

“Rose…? Are you okay?”

“Shut up, I’m fine.”

He couldn't help but laugh because that was such a Rose response and she was so very clearly not fine and that only made her angrier. With shaking hands, she placed her head in her lap, mumbling something he couldn’t quite catch.

“What was that?”

“This is killing me! I can’t stand this. I can’t stand you.” She pulled her head out of her lap.

“Rose, I just saved you from a Boggart. Go ahead, tell me what I did wrong, I know you love doing that.”

“For fuck’s sake, I get it, Scorpius! You hate me! It’s clear.” Rose exploded. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I can’t be nice all the time. I’m sorry I’m combative and bitter but this is who I am and you knew that from the very beginning.”

“It was a joke! I don’t hate you, you just don’t trust me.”

“Well maybe there’s good reason for that.” Rose stood up. “Maybe I should have just listened to logic and reason and common fucking sense instead of you.”

“What are you saying?”

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“Rose--”

“No. I’m done.”

The statement hung between them.

Rose looked at him, steel boned and strong, daring him to say something.

“Rose.” Scorpius said, looking her in the eye. “I get it, okay, you're right. This is hard. You feel guilty and insecure. But don’t lie to yourself and to me. Is it so hard to stop torturing yourself, for once? Stop taking out your frustration on yourself. Stop self-sabotaging yourself. Stop focusing on the little details and focus on the big picture. Grow up, stop acting like you can’t trust me, and help me finish what we started. We’re partners, Rose. Act like it.”

Rose looked away from him, with her lips trembling, With a shaky breath, her hands wrapped around herself in an effort to keep her tears at bay. He realized how harsh he sounded and sighed.

"Rose?"

"I'm not crying."

"Rose."

"It's just that everything is so hard and I can barely think straight sometimes and I just don't want everything to go to shit again."

It was silent for a second. Scorpius tugged on her crossed arm for a second before she relented and he pulled her close to him in a hug. Rose was crying. The universe was broken.He felt like scum, and he definitely knew the feeling well. So he placed a hand under her chin, tracing her face over and over again and wiping away her tears. After a minute, he leaned slowly enough just to make sure she knew what was happening. He pressed his lips to her forehead softly, and quickly. Her hands found his neck, his hands found her hips, and he held her.

Rose pulled away first, blinking quickly with her heart pumping.

“Well shit, I'm a mess” she huffed, which caused Scorpius to laugh. He settled and looked her in the eye, moving one strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry I was so harsh on you. I feel it too sometimes. I know what it's like."

“No. It's fine. You need to take charge more often.”

“We’ve got to step our game up, Rose. As much as it burns my mouth to say this and it may just be the firewhiskey I had before I came down here, Julie Skeeter _is_ right. We’re afraid to touch each other. And we can’t be.”

“But Scorpius,” Rose sighed. “I barely know you.”

“No, Rose.” Scorpius shook his head. “You said it yourself...we’re partners.”

Rose huffed. “Fine. Okay, but what does that mean? You wanna start chasing each other around the monkey bars and pulling each other’s pigtails or what?”

“Probably. Look, I’m not asking for hearts written in the sky. Just give people something to work with. Give me your hand, Rose.” Scorpius held out his open hand. Rose bit her lip reluctantly, muttering that this was stupid before offering her limp hand.

“Look at me, Rose.” Scorpius instructed. Rose obeyed less begrudgingly than usual and he smiled at her progress. He didn’t even have to repeat himself. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Rose looked at him, trying to understand if he was being serious or just messing with her. 

“Yes, Scorpius. I’m sure.” She nodded. “I trust you.”

“Well then, after you.” he smiled at her.


	9. Chapter 9

 

The awards concluded and Rose felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders. First public appearance was checked off the list officially. Standing in front of James’s New York apartment, Rose turned to give him the rundown and ended up pacing in frustration.

“Now all we have to do is survive James’s stupid after-party.” she told him. “This is his flat, which is the size of my fucking house in England. It’s just people getting drunk, which I can’t even do, but if I don’t go I’ve insulted the family so we’re going to stop by for an hour--max and then leave.”

“Whatever you say,”

“Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t look at anyone. In fact, we don’t even have to go, I know I don’t want to, I hate these stupid parties--”

“Are you ready?”

“Okay. Alright. I trust you. We’re doing this.” Rose stopped pacing and turned towards him and grabbed his hand. He followed her into the party, not sure what to expect considering the type of parties he’s been to and the type of parties the Weasleys throw seemed vastly different. He was both horrified and relieved to see that it reminded him of Paris at least a little bit.

He was relieved that Albus was the first thing he saw.

“Rose! Scorp!” Albus sang. Scorpius chuckled. Albus was always such a happy-go-lucky drunk. Rose rolled her eyes. “James said to tell you that the drinks are that way and that the snacks are that way. Have either of you seen Parv?”

“No, Al, we just got here.” Rose said, squeezing Scorpius’s hand. “Have you seen Molly?”

“She’s with Stephen and Lily by the stairs.” Al said. “I’m gonna go get another drink and look for Parv. Scorp, wanna come with me?”

“Uh...sure…” Scorpius said, looking towards Rose for approval. “I’ll see you later.”

Rose nodded as they detangled their fingers and she walked towards Molly. Molly and Mira were sitting on the stairs laughing with Lily and Stephen.

“Oi, Rosie.” Lily looked at her from Stephen’s arm. “Tell me how you bagged that one. Me and Stephen are dying to know.”

“I’ll never tell.” Rose said, giving Stephen a kiss on the cheek. They’d known Stephen since they were children and he’d played a young version of her uncle in tribute movies. Stephen was American but she admitted that Stephen did bear a striking resemblance to her uncle in the films. “The fact that I’m not dead is still sort of puzzling to me.”

“Well, it’s not for lack of trying.” Stephen shook his head at her. Rose shrugged and smiled at him. “I mean seriously, Rose, no one’s heard of that guy for a couple years. You had to go out of your way to dig him up.”

“No, Goblin King Potter did it for her.” Lily smirked. “I told you about that, yeah? Oh and Molls told us you two had classes at Hogwarts together. Has this torrid love affair gone on since then?”

“Well for Lorcan’s sake, I’d hope not.” Rose rolled her eyes at Lily. Drunk Lily was way less fun when you weren’t drunk yourself. “Honestly, we didn’t start anything until the wedding. And it’s only been getting serious for the past week or so.”

Rose turned to look at Scorpius and Al, who had found Parvani and her brother. Vani had said something snarky to Amir—probably in reference to their father—and both Al and Scorpius cracked up. Scorpius looked good when he laughed. His hair was a little less styled, his suit jacket and dress robes were off and he had cuffed his shirt, which exposed his arms. The top button of his shirt had managed to come undone. Rose smiled and turned back to Lily and Stephen.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” she said, half just for good measure and half just because she wanted to know. There was also a small part of her who wanted to rub this in Lily’s face.

“Very.” Lily answered dreamily. Rose and Stephen exchanged looks. “What? Looking isn’t off-limits. I can look but I can’t touch.”

“Glad you know, Lils. Scorpius is a great guy and I don’t care what my dad thinks but if I have to fight you and my dad for him, I will." 

“You say that now.” Stephen winked at her. “Don’t run to America when things go crazy. There’s barely enough space in my apartment as it is.”

“That’s why I have Molly.” Rose pointed at her drunk cousin, who was petting Mira’s hair and being catching jellybeans in her mouth delivered from Lucy. Molly beamed at her, not knowing particularly why as a jellybean hit her square in the face. Rose smiled back at her.

“Uh-oh,” Lily whispered, grabbing Rose’s shoulders. “Think fast.  Leggy long-haired goddess at 4 o’clock.”

Lily had given her the perfect view to see Scorpius, unsuspecting Scorpius, being approached by Paloma Boot, model for Witch Weekly. The model placed a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder, which was received by a very confused drunk man. She whispered something in his ear but the expression on Scorpius’s face was unreadable. Pulling away, she had a smirk on her face as she placed a slip of paper in his front pocket. Scorpius, whose face had barely changed the whole time, shrugged off the incident. Rose blinked.

“Rose? Want me to go give her a piece of—”

“No, Lily, it’s nothing.” Rose shrugged. “Scorpius’s ex used to be a Witch Weekly model, she surely just remembers him from there. It’s nothing.”

“Well, I have to fight with someone at one of these parties and Lysander isn’t here…so…” Lily scanned the room. “Hold my Beetle Berry, I’m gonna go find that Quodpot player that was looking at me funny. C’mon, Stephen.”

Lily handed Rose her almost empty bottle of berry whiskey. Rose’s eyes widened as she looked down at the bottle. Swishing it around, she determined there was no more than a gulp or 2 left in the bottle. Maybe 2 gulps and a sip, maximum. Sighing, she tried to look for anyone else to give it too but the smell had already hit her and she was beginning to wonder what damage 2 gulps and a sip could really do.

“Oh come on, Rose.” Dammit. Hugo. He looked at her and didn’t say anything. He surveyed the scene, eyes lingering on the bottle. Putting his arms around his drunk and sleepy mother-of-his-child who was demanding hash browns, he waited for Rose to look up at him. She did, begrudgingly.

Without warning, Hugo slapped the bottle out of her hand and the bottle bounced across the room.

“Jesus!” Rose gasped, trying to reach for the bottle again. He then proceeded to place Fiona on the couch, walk over, snatch the bottle from the floor, pick it up, open the front door and throw it off the stairs with a crash. Rose’s mouth dropped. On the way back over, he snatched a sleepy Fiona from the couch.

“Gerroffa-me! Hugo’s gonna get real mad.” Fiona jerked about.

“It’s me, love.” Hugo rolled his eyes. “We’re gonna go back to the hotel, yeah? Right after I yell at Rose.”  He sat Fiona on the stairs, in preparation to fight with her.

“Oh.” Fiona said, lolling her head to the side. “Hurry up, I want chips, crisps, and a coke.”

Looking at Rose, he sighed. “You heard the lady: make it quick, I need to get some food in her before her liver fails.”

“Are you mad?” Rose glared at him. “Seriously, are you? I was just holding it for Lily!”

“Come on, Rose. The old holding it for a friend trick? You know I promised I wouldn’t let you drink this year, alright? And just because I’m leaving, don’t think you can loosen up now. Alright? Fi, babe, get up and let’s go.” He pulled Fiona to her feet and she cuddled into him, muttering something else about hash browns. Rose rolled her eyes at her brother’s retreating form.

She looked for an escape. She couldn’t go upstairs—Lord knows what poor Quodpot player James was having for dinner (or vice versa). The stairs were occupied by Mira, Molly, and Lucy who were deeply engrossed in a conversation about the Louis's grades at Hogwarts. Fred, Teddy, and Rox and most of their significant others had claimed the couches as their own heart-to-heart space about God-knows-what and she didn’t want to know.  The kitchen was being raided by Lily, Stephen, and many other celebrities. Vic had taken refuge in the bathroom with Dom, helping their friend Inez Wax get it all out. The bar was promising because it held Al and Parvani, but that was a hard pass. The only way Rose saw out was the balcony, which she resented for being so high up and predictable but was what she had to do.   

Making brief eye contact with Scorpius before she went to move for the balcony was a mistake, but she knew he would follow her.

“Did I see Hugo slap a bottle out of your hand?” a bemused Scorpius said, leaning against the balcony door. The people around them were gawking. Rose fixed her irritated gaze on him.

“Oh Scorpius, good on you to stop by!”

 “You told me you hate heights, what are you doing here?”

“I do. So intuitive now, are we?”

“Now Rose, honey, what is that supposed to mean?”

“Pray tell, is Ms. Paloma Boot doing well? I know, why don’t we just call and ask her?” Rose narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. “Are you trying to blow this for both of us?”

“Hey, no Rosie, please, not here.” Scorpius said, placing a hand on her waist. His fingers brushed the fabric of her blue dress in a soothing motion. He looked at her with big impossibly grey eyes, full of a lot of things she wasn’t willing to process sober. “I’m sorry.”

“I am too.” Rose whispered so only he could hear how much she hated him. “Don’t call me Rosie.”

“Goddammit,” he slurred and turned to everyone still on the balcony. “Everyone out.”

After the 2 or 3 people on the balcony staggered out, Scorpius turned to Rose, whose mouth was already open.

“If you got caught _cheating_ on me minutes after we just reached this milestone, I would have murdered you.” Her eyes were on fire. “Lily was watching, you’re lucky she’s not going to remember this. Do you even care? That was sloppy, Scorpius, we’re better than that.”

“I would never cheat on you!” Scorpius’s gaze was intense, although his stance wobbly. “I told you I was willing to not have sex!”

“Maybe you should learn to stick to promises you can keep.” Rose said, ripping his hand off of her waist and turning to stare at the sky. “I get it. You’re male and you’ve got loads of opportunities for a proper shag, at the very least a snog. And me? I’m nothing more than a nun. Who am I to stand between you and a nice warm--?”

“Rose.”

“God forbid, you care about how things like that make us look—!”

“That’s it!” Scorpius held his arms up, effectively pissed off. He breathed heavily and almost stalked towards the door before he heard Rose’s feeble voice asking him where he was going.

"Home!” he yelled, turning back on his heel. Rose turned to face him. “I didn’t do anything wrong. And I have always cared Rose, always. I cared when you got too drunk to get home, I cared when you were trapped with a Boggart hours ago, and I’m here now. I don’t understand how you can say I don’t care when all I have been doing these past few months is try to prove myself to you, tried to let you trust me but its bullshit. You don’t want me to--"

“Wait.” Rose sighed. “Look, hey, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to express things without conflict. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I know, I’m a bitch.”

 Scorpius shook his head. “I don’t think you’re a bitch. Stop putting words in my mouth to say I’m insulting you, I’m not Rose--I’m not.”

“I get it. You can leave if you want.” Rose blinked. “Go ahead. Leave.”

“No.”

“It’s okay, Scorpius.” Rose shrugged. “This is probably why you didn’t even wanna fuck me the first day but you’d let Paloma--”

“You...you think I don’t want you?”

“Well, yeah--”

“That’s bullshit, Rose.” Scorpius turned to her, shrugging. “Yes, I’m a red-blooded male but I have eyes. You’re attractive, Rose. You were sloshed that day, I didn’t want to take advantage of you.”

Rose didn’t like feeling vulnerable. She preferred feeling antagonistic instead.

“Or maybe you just didn’t have what it takes and you’re hiding behind this whole respectable gentleman act to make yourself feel better about your lack of...ability.” Rose said, trying to make him feel as hurt as she did.

“Shut up, Rose” Scorpius glared at her, knowing she was just trying to instigate a fight. She raised her eyebrows, challenging him. “If I’d known without a shadow of a doubt that you’d wanted me too, I wouldn’t have hesitated.”

“Prove it.” she whispered, stepping into his personal space, noses almost touching.

“God, I hate you sometimes.” He muttered, before grabbing the back of her neck and propelling her forward.

His lips were on hers in less than a second, and she melted into him... all she could do was wrap her arms around his neck as he brutally attacked her lips, taking her lips between his and biting down on them. He knew he was going to draw blood, Rose knew he was going to draw blood and Rose also knew that she shouldn't have prodded him like that, at least not so hard because she knew she was in for it. He tasted like cigarettes and firewhiskey and she liked it.

She wasn’t exactly sure if hatesex was specified in their original deal, but she was willing to concede for the night.

“We can’t do this here.” Scorpius said, his hands traveling underneath her knees. She buckled beneath them, and he dragged her left leg up to her waist. She used this time away from his lips to press open mouthed kisses on the side of his pale neck, intent on forming bruises. “People might be watching.”

“You’re right.” Rose said breathily as he gripped her thigh. “That’s what makes it fun.”

“Oh my god.” Scorpius said before he kissed her deep and hard. “That’s it. We’re going back to the hotel.” Scorpius grabbed his wand to Side-Along them back to his room.

“Scorpius, no, you know I hate—AH!”

+

The rest of the night was a haze, especially for him. He didn’t remember sex at all so it was safe to assume they didn’t have any. He didn’t blackout, he remembered very specific things: like getting to second base, her green underwear, the way her voice sounded after she’d been moaning for a long time.  He remembers that the buttons on his shirt had to be magicked back on. Rose’s bra was almost unrecognizable. His neck looked like a graveyard of bruises, and hers no better.

“Why didn’t we have sex?” he asked as they prepared to go out to Muggle New York with some of Rose’s cousins and actor friends. Scorpius thought about maybe visiting his cousin Queenie in the NYC Wizarding District while he was here, which Rose agreed to. In response to his sex question, Rose sighed.

“It wasn’t right.” Rose shrugged at him “You were halfway to smashed and I provoked you, and it just didn’t feel right. The night wasn’t a total loss, though.”

She whipped around giddily and turned on the TV.

And when the picture surfaced on WitchWaveTV of a birdseye view of Rose’s head tossed back with Scorpius’s blonde hair pressing against her neck, his hand glued to her thigh, and her hand placed in his hair…his jaw dropped.

“No, no, wait, it gets better.” Rose smiled and changed the channel again. There their picture was on the BWBC, then again on 123Cauldron, the Firebrand Network, WGC, and even QuidditchWorld.

“Our picture is probably on the cover of every magazine in the New York Wizarding District with every variant of the words “It’s Official” as the headline. And Lily’s already told me you probably don’t wanna check Twitter.” Rose couldn’t help say all of this with a smile. “Isn’t that crazy?”

“Yeah. Bloody hell. This is perfect. Your dad is going to kill me.” Scorpius said, smiling back at her.

“Hey well, I do look like I fucked the world’s thirstiest vampire.” Rose shrugged and clicked the TV off as she began to head for the door. “I think we’re even. Now, let’s go, I want to eat sometime this year.”

“Oi, don’t you wanna cover that up?” Scorpius pointed to her exposed chest. “You look like you’ve been strangled by tentacles.”

“Why bother?” Rose teased. Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

+

Rose had been ignoring her wand phone all day, her dad’s calls especially. After visiting the Statue of Liberty, the Woolworth Building, and the NYC Wizarding District’s famed statue of Newton Scamander (which Rose was particularly worried about, just in case some paparazzi tried to play in a connection to Lorcan), Rose was sure that the media was having a field day.

She started the day at brunch with Dom, James, Rox, Lucy, Molly, Fred, Albus, and Scorpius. Throughout the day with appointments and dragon hide shopping and appearances to make, it whittled down to just her, Al, and Scorpius. Rose and Scorpius held hands in public, with no one noticing.

Time began to lose them. At some point, Al left to pick up Parvani from dinner with her dad shortly before they went to the hospital Scorpius’s cousin worked at. Queenie Greengrass almost had a heart attack and couldn't talk for long, so they went to get hot dogs.

“When I was 20 and Hugo was like 18, I had gotten so mad at him that one year while we were visiting New York, I threatened to hang him from the Statue of Liberty’s left tit.” Rose said casually as the man in the food truck handed them their hot dogs. “I was hungover, so it didn't work. I was close. I hung him from a passing boat. It was weird because my mother burst out laughing and my dad almost killed me, which isn’t how it usually is.”

“And why are you telling me this?” Scorpius took a bite of his hot dog, proceeding to speak with his mouth full. “Despite your obvious attempt to remind me that you will actually hex me at any moment—”

“What I’m trying to say is that was a good day in New York.” Rose wrinkled her nose at him as she took a bite of her hot dog as they sat on a park bench in the District. “This was a good day too. Have I ever told you what a good partner you are?”

“No.” Scorpius rolled his eyes. “There’s a first for everything.”

“Alright.” Rose smiled. “Even though you eat like starving centaur, you’re a good partner.”  

“Thank you!” Scorpius said. “Finally, Jesus. Oh, and right back at you. Except you’re more like a greedy hippogriff. With an affinity for mustard.”

“Shut up, whatever. I’m gonna go get some more mustard from the food truck, need anything?” Rose said, standing.

“Just a kiss on the cheek. For the cameras.” Scorpius stated. Rose sighed but bent over and placed a tender kiss on his cheek.

“If only you were wearing lipstick.” Scorpius sighed. “Then I’d have something as obvious as your hickies to show off. Maybe that mustard could come in handy.”

Taking a second to smack him before she went to get the mustard, Scorpius watched her fumble with the bottle for a second and he wondered if things were supposed to be this good. When things got that good, nothing seemed right or things started to go wrong.

But most of all, Scorpius couldn’t help but think of the note he received from Paloma. Paloma had never really been a part of Zach’s gang, so he’s never worried about her. She innocently stated that an old friend had been meaning to give him a note and slid it in his pocket. Paloma probably thought nothing of it.

What was scrawled on the paper in Zach’s familiar chickenscratch revealed probably his worst nightmare.

He might have to tell Rose the truth.

He might have to tell everyone the truth.


	10. Chapter 10

**_(August 2030- 3 ½ months later)_ **

"Oh, piss off!" Rose whined as Scorpius held her coffee cup above her head, out of her reach. She rolled her eyes as he laughed at her attempts to grab it. Believe it or not, he was taller than her and that pleased yet still managed to irritate her to no end.

" _Carpe Retractum._ " Rose exclaimed. The mug rushed from Scorpius's grips into Rose's waiting hands. At the same time, the door to his flat opened and a heavily pregnant Parvani and a heavily happily Al waltz in, smiling.

"Hello lovebirds." Al said, as he helped his wife sit on the couch. Rose stuck her tongue out at Scorpius, and smiled at Vani. Scorpius considered her for a second before turning to Al. Rose Weasley, the enigma. 3 or so months had passed since their couple debut and he still couldn’t believe this was the girl he was with, even if it was just symbolic. Rose was better now, less shy and more trusting but equally as combative. It was a strange mix, one he didn't know could have existed.

“Babe, could you get me a cup of water?” Vani beamed up at him from the couch. Albus kiss her forehead and smiled, happily willing to get the glass.

“We’re the lovebirds?” Scorpius taunted Albus, who flipped him off on the way to the kitchen.

"You could have easily used magic, Vani." Rose sipped her on her coffee, beaming at her friend.

"Yes but even reaching for my wand these days makes my back feel like I've Crucio'd my spine 10 times over." Vani whined. Rose shook her head.

"Did you see Lily’s twins learned to walk?"

"Did they? Oh my god, they are so adorable." Parvani cooed, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. Rose smiled. Scorpius groaned, coming up behind her.

"Don't get her up on baby talk." he grumbled. Rose glared at him. She loved children and he knew that. She's been imagining her future children since she was eight years old. She's never told a soul. Not even Parvani.

"Go help Albus." she hissed at him and he smirked. She wanted to hex him. Or slap him. She always wanted to slap him. He was always just very slappable, especially since they got comfortable with each other. They had been "dating" for six months now, and around the 2 month mark--that's when he became increasingly irritating. It was definitely working though. Her mother wasn't annoying and yesterday, they got an early check from his Aunt Daphne. With that, they celebrated last night.

"Touchy, touchy, Rose." Scorpius said as he slapped her butt on the way out. She glared at him, and he smirked and she was reminded that, no matter how attractive, a git is a git is a git.

However, one very new rule of the arrangement was that they didn’t have sex and not for lack of trying. It would complicate things. Of course, they had to kiss or make out or place a hickey here and there, especially in front of their families and the press but... sex was a private thing neither wanted to have with each other or with anybody else apparently. He's barely reached second base in all of their almost 7 months.

To Rose, that's where their near-perfect plan hits a snag. She was fine without sex, she’d been about a year celibate when they met. But he got crabby sometimes. He was, although an irresponsible prick, attractive. And she could see that others thought that too. He couldn’t not want sex. She felt that if anything, sex would be what would blow this whole thing under the water. She could tell, he was getting anxious with this little period of abstinence and every time he looks at her, with that look in his eyes, she felt her breath catch.

Not that she actually cares what or who the prat does. She just doesn't want him, in all technicality, cheating on her during their engagement. What if someone found out? Then the whole plan would be ruined. And she was just this much closer to getting her house back to normal.

+

Scorpius hummed, sitting in the kitchen and not really helping Al get Parvani a glass of water. As a line of ice cubes fell from his wand, Al coughed and urged him closer, his voice lowered until it was barely audible to anybody in the room. Scorpius gave him a look and Al raised his voice, but not by much.

"Hey... since you're so calm, I guess Rosie hasn't told you yet huh?" Al said, punching him. Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Al rolled his eyes at Rose's direction, opening his mouth to explain.

"Next week's the family reunion Scorp. Her mum is going to kill Rose if you don't come, as her boyfriend and all. And I think her dad is just going to bloody kill you."

"Charming." Scorpius said, smiling. Scorpius was actually very, very afraid of Ron Weasley . They had yet to meet and the man fought in a _war_ and all Scorpius's ever did was make bad decisions and ruin a couple of lives...now, he wants to marry his daughter? If Scorpius had a daughter like Rose, although bossy and demanding and an absolute terror, he'd never let her breathe next to a boy like him.

Rose and PArvani walked inside the kitchen and glared at Albus, who pretended to be innocent. Scorpius wanted to tell her she had ears like a hawk, but she probably heard every single thought he even processed already. She set her jaw and crossed her arms.

"Well, what could I do? Leave my best mate unprepared for... us?" he groaned and Rose arched one eyebrow, a skill he's never mastered. It looked natural on her, he's seen that look many-a-time.

"I was going to tell him, eventually." she clarified, eyes on Albus, who sat up straighter under her gaze.

Scorpius knew why she hesitated. This would be their most important audience. Their biggest show on Broadway. Their act needed to be stepped up a bit. Scorpius looked at his partner and smirked, the sudden thought that he wouldn't mind, piercing his brain.

Rose seemed to read his thoughts and turned her questioning gaze on him, placing a hand on his leg. "Are you okay with this?" she asked, and he understood her double meaning.

Scorpius had to smirk, just to piss her off. It worked and he knew it because she made that angry little noise in the back of her throat, her hands gripping her back pocket, where she keeps her wand. Always ready to hex him.

"Of course, Rosie. I'm always up for a... challenge." he whispered and she smiled now, mischief dancing across her features, fingers softening on her weapon, now gliding up to her hips.

"Good, because you're going to have quite the challenge ahead of you Scorpius. Do you think you can handle it?" she said, innocently enough for him to realize she was a bloody tease. And for a girl who says she wouldn't exactly "want" him to shag someone while they're bloody engaged, that was low.

Scorpius watched her as she walked out back into his living room with the glass of water. She had paid off about one-fourth of her house by now. She still stayed with her cousin Molly and her girlfriend, but most of the times nowadays she was here, yelling at him for something or the other. The only thing they had in common was their obsession with coffee.

That and their love for a challenge.

* * *

  _Unbelievable._ Rose thought. _This is not to be believed._

She had run out of Floo powder _and_ he was _late_. She slammed her car door, inhaling her coffee, building up the bravado to curse his door down. Yes, she knew he hid a key underneath a planted PricklyPear (the replacement she bought him that he drunkenly named Eduardo), but she was too pissed to register Eduardo’s existence.

 _"Bombarda!_ Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you have ten minutes to get ready for my family before I hex you into oblivion. And that's not a threat, it's a promise." she screeched, banging down his door. This was un-bloody-believable, honestly.

A groan and a thump was heard, followed by a string of profanities. She rolled her eyes. She does that a lot more often with him. He made her go into permanent annoyance mode, and her eyes are probably going to get stuck like that one day.

"Rose!" Scorpius whined, looking at his scorched door, lying near her shoes. "That's the third time this month."

Rose set her coffee down on his kitchen counter and walked over, faux-calmly to him, before grabbing his his favorite shirt by the collar. He was shocked, staring down at her in fear.

"You have eight minutes before I tie you up and dress you myself." she growled in a low voice and he smirked. She scoffed at him, pushing back to sit down on his couch. Scorpius mumbled something about "being a wizard" and her being a "bloody witch" and performed some non-verbal spells on his appearance. She glared at him, shaking her head.

"How could you be late?" she said as they walked to his fireplace briskly, preparing his Floo powder.

Scorpius shrugged. "I like sleep."

Rose gave him a murderous glance and he shrunk back, watching her fidget with the powder. He pulled out his wand discreetly, grabbed her hand and Apparated them to the Burrow. Her whine of ' _Scorpius_!' was drowned out by the sounds of a soccer ball whizzing pass her head. She instinctively pulled herself tighter into Scorpius, who looked down at her. She was breathing oddly, because of the Apparating, and her eyes were squeezed shut in fear. She was clutching his shirt, and he held her waist protectively.

"Hello! Earth to Rose." a familiar voice drew out and Rose opened her eyes immediately. It was Fred, who was holding his son Jonah on his shoulders. She pulled away from Scorpius quickly and smiled at them. Fred placed Jonah down to run and grab his soccer ball. "Nice kick, my friend. Your mother will Muggle another sport into you if it kills her."

"Hey Scorpius!” Fred said as he pulled Rose into a bear hug. “By the way, this is Jonah." Fred said, pointing to the toddler playing with the soccer ball. "Joey, c’mere! You remember Rosie right?" Jonah smiled at Rose and reached for her, who gladly picked him up. Fred feigned hurt as they started walking towards the Burrow.

"Three minutes in, and she's trying to steal my son. You have quite the job to fulfill Scorpilicious."

Fred teased, jogging up to meet a young woman who stood in the doorway.

"Hello love... excited to see me?" he said and kissed the woman on the cheek. She laughed and shoved him inside, arms open for Rose. Rose grinned at her and passed Jonah off to Scorpius, to hug her friend.

Jonah was fascinated with his hair, pulling at it, seeming confused that Rose's hair was longer. He had a look of deep concentration on his face as he pulled Scorpius's hair. He laughed at the baby's confusion as he pulled his hair again. His mother seemed to realize this and gasped in horror.

Scorpius looked at Rose, who seemed to be watching him thoughtfully. "Jonah! We don't do that to people!" the baby's mother hissed. Jonah just laughed at his mum, which Fred snorted at. The woman smacked the back of Fred's head, and he shut up.

"Get your son." she growled and Fred grumbled about how he was always 'his son' when he does something wrong before she glared at him, and he quieted.

"Now Rosie, is this the man that has your dad so worked up?" the woman smiled at him. Rose and Scorpius paled. She laughed, sounding like light bells.

"I'm kidding. I'm Kimberly, by the way, Fred's wife and baby mama. We kinda met at the Cinema Ball. We've heard very little about you since then, so it's okay. Just watch out for Grandma Molly." she looked around before whispering to Scorpius. "She wants more grandkids."

Then she smiled brightly, turned around and walked back inside the house. It looked rebuilt in some places, newer than other places, but rickety all the same. Scorpius looked from the house to Rose, who smiled at it.

"I'm scared." he said, half-serious.

Rose looked at him, a playful twinge in her eye as she grabbed his hand, pulling him inside. "I know."


	11. Chapter 11

As they entered the Burrow kitchen, Scorpius looked over nervously at her but she squeezed his hand, as if to draw comfort and he knew now, that she was the nervous one and he had to be braver than her, even if he felt like he was throwing himself to a friendly wolf-pack covered in barbecue sauce.

So he pulled her forward, yet again, and she protested lightly although there was no hope. They were already in too deep.

"Rose!" her little brother yelled and the whole family turned their heads, still chatting away. Hugo ran to hug her and she pressed sisterly kisses all over his face. Scorpius was confused. Rose was never that affectionate with anybody... at least, not sober. James, Fred, and Lily waved at them as Albus and Parvani beamed towards them. Her brother smiled at her reassuringly and she smiled nervously back. Her mother and grandmother reached for her and Scorpius respectively and her father grumbled in his seat, her Aunt Ginny smacking her brother on his arm.

"Rosie, dear!" her grandmother hugged her and Scorpius at the same time, effectively suffocating them both. "How are you? Both of you! Oh and why are you so thin? And why is he so thin? Merlin, Rose, have you fed this boy at all? He's thinner than a toothpick, honestly. Here, let me get you both some food." She said before Rose could utter a word.

Her mother hugged her daughter tenderly, smiling at her. She looked elegant, even in a food-stained purple shirt and jeans. She had this classic beauty about her Rose would not mind having when she gets closer to her mum's age. She looked good even after feeding Jeremy.

“Rose, I just want you to know--”

“I know, Mom--”

“I just really appreciate--”

“No like, I totally get it”

Rose and her mother began talking, quietly, and in tongue but they understood every word the other said. Scorpius raised his eyebrows at the women, as Rose hugged her mother again. Only tighter and needier. Her mother looked surprised but held onto her lovingly, as if she'd never see her again.

Then she turned to Scorpius, hugging him, throwing him off yet again. "I would've killed her if she hadn't brought you." Her mother whispered. Rose smiled at him encouragingly, and Scorpius gave her an apprehensive look.

Rose sat on the counter next to Hugo and Scorpius was dragged by Molly, not Rose's cousin, her grandmother, to sit down and eat. Molly, the cousin, and her daughter, Karin, flashed in and the attention turned to her… most of the attention anyway.

Ron Weasley was still glaring holes into Scorpius's head.

+

Ron Weasley was a very scary man. He wasn't the largest, nor was he the strongest, nor was he the most coordinated. But he was the most protective and possessive man Hermione had ever met. Not saying that was all necessarily a bad thing. She loved him, she honestly did, and she loved how protective he was of her. It made her feel safe.But another quality he has acquired from his parents, who were protective of most everything in their own right, was the tendency to go overboard. Coupled with that and his male ego, he was quite the scary man.

She tried to stop him from wanting to rip Scorpius’s head off, but he insisted that it must be done.

Rose looked at her with something akin to horror in her eyes as he asked if he could speak to her and Scorpius alone.

Hermione frowned and wished her daughter a silent good luck as she picked up Jeremy from the floor and sighed, wiping his face of Lucy's spaghetti. Mr. Weasley went over the moon for Muggle food and ate 4 helpings of it with glee. Hugo, not to be outdone, had a little over 5 and ended up with tomato sauce in his hair (well, not that anyone noticed; his hair was red enough).

In that moment, Rose was pretty sure one of them was going to die.

+

Scorpius clutched Rose's hand so hard, it turned white. She yelped quietly, following her father into the living room at a respectable distance.

"I'm going to die." he muttered pitifully. "I am going to die a horrible, horrible death."

"Scorpius-"

"Give Eduardo to Al-"

"Scorpius, I don't-"

"Give my fish to my Babicz, but not my angelfish. I want to be buried with him, he's my favorite."

Rose rolled her eyes as he brought his head down to sob into his hands. Rose patted his head, dragging him along nicely. Her father had entered the living room and was now pacing, running a hand through his hair. Scorpius whimpered as they entered and sat down on the couch.

Her father gulped, trying to calm himself down.

"Rose." her father croaked out of his throat. Scorpius felt death coming around the corner.

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked innocently, and Scorpius looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. How was she so good at acting? Rose was neither affectionate nor innocent. At least, he thought she wasn't.

"Who is he?" her father's strained voice snapped him back to reality.

"Scorpius." she answered boldly and he thought that maybe she was going to die before him.

"Scorpius what?"

Her eyes flashed in defiance. "Just Scorpius." Scorpius didn't have time to register what that meant when her father's gaze flickered to him, before settling on Rose.

Ron Weasley glared at his daughter, she looked him in the eye. Ron settled on glaring at Scorpius. Scorpius shrunk and looked everywhere but his eyes.

"Well, Just Scorpius, do you have any idea why I wanted to talk to you?" Ron said, it was a whisper, but those quiet menacing ones that scare you the fuck past any yelling. His own dad has used it many-a-time.

Scorpius shook his head.

"Answer me."

"N-no, sir."

Rose glared at her father, patting Scorpius's arm. He had a right to be scared. Her father was downright terrifying. I mean, he was 'the king', best friends with 'the boy who lived', and married to 'the brightest witch of her age'--the Minister for Magic who was still probably the brightest witch of this age. If that couldn't do any damage to him...

“I think you and my daughter both know.” Ron said. Ron held his wand in Scorpius's face as a small fire was lit. He held it dangerously close.

Scorpius looked down at his hands.

"Look at me."

"Daddy, you're scaring him." Rose said, sounding genuinely concerned.

"That's the intention. I just want him to know if he ever hurts you, I will personally burn his bollocks off. And without intimidation, he would never understand that I would bloody wring his scrawny git-neck if he tries." he said, aiming the threats toward Scorpius. Scorpius nervously clutched Rose's hand as the fire went out. "I don't want one tear, one scream, one sob, not even one frown to come from my daughter because of you, Just Scorpius, do I make myself clear?"

Scorpius nodded, eyeing the way her father gripped his wand. Which looked very impressive, even if it was no longer aflame and harmless at the moment Well, the wand suits the wizard. And right now, the wizard was positively seething from pure, unadulterated rage.

"Are we done here?" Rose's mother burst in, holding Jeremy in her arms. "It's time for this one here to take a nap. Some of us need our beauty sleep." she teased, poking her husband's face.

Scorpius let out the breath he was holding. Rose squeezed his arm.

"I hope you're not talking about me. I look good." her father teased.

"Of course you do, Ronald." Hermione said. "Now, let Rose and Scorpius go eat. And come on, before Jeremy wakes up from his coma. If I put him down fast enough-" her mother leaned up and whispered in her father's ear. Rose gagged.

"Use a mallet if you have to." her father muttered and Hermione laughed, walking upstairs, dragging her husband behind her. "Goodnight Rose."

"See you at dinner, Daddy, Mum." she said quietly. Scorpius was still kind of put off by his near death experience so as the door shut, Scorpius's head fell into her lap. She squeaked, muttering "Scorpius!", and he sighed heavily, like someone who just been crying.

"I thought I was going to die." he said into her jeans.

Rose sighed, stroking his hair lightly. "To be honest, I thought you were going to die too."

"That's comforting." Scorpius said sarcastically, holding onto her calf.

"None of it is.” Rose shrugged, tucking a lock of overgrown hair behind his ear.

“You sounded like you cared.” he whispered, pulling his head up to look at her. “When you were talking to your dad, you were worried about me, weren’t you.”

“No.” Rose jumped to her own defense immediately.

“Oh yeah?” Scorpius leaned up and started to imitate her. “No Daddy--it’s Just Scorpius? Ring any bells.”

“Okay, shut up I just didn’t like what he was trying to make me say--like your last name is going to change anything about you.” Rose hit his shoulder, sending him back down to her lap. “Like your last name is the reason you don’t deserve me. I can think of many reasons without even mentioning your last name.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say Rose, you cared about me.” Scorpius watched her face turn red. He leaned up to poke at her cheeks as she swatted him away. “But hey, you’re right, Rose.” Scorpius smiled up at her. “I don’t deserve you."'

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious. You're too good for me.”

She chuckled, turning to look at him. She expected a face full of mirth, but was greeted with something more...affectionate than she was used to. Scorpius's face was more genuine and open...honest. As if he believed what he was saying. Rose blinked and tilted her head, considering this possibility before deciding to say something.

Rose could always hear Lily Potter before she saw her, and Lily had a knack for ruining moments. Upon entering the house, she heard Lily let out a shriek only seconds before the redhead pounced on her, hugging her intensely. Scorpius raised his eyebrows at her and Rose gave him a look that screamed "Shut up, you prick." more than anything.

"Rose! Is that Scorpius?" the girl said, jabbing her in the stomach, pretending to shocked. It was like he wasn't in the room. Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste at the direction of her partner.

"Unfortunately," she quipped and Scorpius smirked at her, rolling his eyes at his choice of woman. Lily giggled, extending a hand forward.

"I'm Lily, her cousin. We’ve met." she said a tad flirtatiously. Scorpius shook her hand and in a bold split-second decision, he kissed the smooth and berry-smelling surface lightly. Rose glared at him harshly as Lily's giggles grew more girlish. Scorpius smirked at her, and Rose crossed her arms.

"Lily, where's Lysander? I thought him and the kids were coming." Rose said, masking her fury. But, of course, Scorpius saw right through her and she knew he did. Of course he did. He was the cause of it, the git. He pulled on Rose's hand as she pouted discreetly. She glared  at him but complied, intertwining their hands. All the while, Lily was chatting a mile a minute.

"Lu is adorable. She can sing the alphabet and count to three. And Leila is just so sweet, they started walking, and she can clap her hands, and it's just so-"

Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows. "She has kids?" he whispered under his breath, as the girl started walking and continued, leading them down the hallway.

Rose nodded. "Twins. They’re 2. She married young, 20 years old." she whispered. His eyebrows shot up. Rose shrugged, painting a nonchalant face.

Not that she resented Lily for marrying the love of her life and having the most adorable twin girls in the whole world as her daughters, all before everyone else in the whole entire family. It's just… maybe she had slight… jealousy. She didn't want to marry Lysander; he was definitely Lily's property but…

"And the bloke? Someone I should know about?" Scorpius asked, clutching her hand. He could feel that slight twinge of jealousy in Rose's voice, but he just wanted to hear if it was because of the guy or the kids or the idea of a family. It was most likely the last one.

"She has been madly in love with Lysander since like, birth." she murmured and Scorpius was mentally relieved, no hint of jealousy in her voice. They had come full circle by now, back to the kitchen. Scorpius played with her fingers in his hand, a habit he only did when he got occasionally nervous with their whole plan. Rose sighed, slapping his hand.

"No time for cold feet, Scorp. We're going to do this, even if it kills you." Rose smiled at him. Scorpius found an odd sense of courage stem her words and her smile. He kissed her hand this time and Rose freezed a bit.

No. No. No, her heart warmed despite her internal protests. God, she shouldn't complicate this with feelings. It would ruin this whole thing they had going on here. They weren't supposed to actually like each other... then it would be real. And then there would be arguments and jealousy and anger and it would tear this whole plan apart.Rose's eyes closed.'

  
Lily Potter turned around and saw Scorpius staring at her cousin as she seemed to be paralyzed, his lips to her hand and had to hold back a squeal.  Lily sighed, unintentionally ruining the moment. Rose looked flustered and blinked, removing herself from under Scorpius's lips. Lily smiled and waved her on into the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

“I just need some air.” He mumbled at Rose shortly. They had settled in after lunch and game planned in his room until what she assumed was dinner. What else could "Rose! Get your butt down here before Albus eats all of the good meatballs!" mean coming from Hugo.

Rose tilted her head at him but allowed him a moment to breath, her family could be a lot. She watched him walk outside for a second before traipsing down the long staircase. When she entered the kitchen, Fred had let out a muffled cry of laughter, as he was trying to feed his son some applesauce.

Lily and James were pouring cheese and garlic on each other’s plates, laughing at the copious amounts James put on for his plate. Molly and Mira watched Karin and Jeremy poke at each other fondly.

Hugo took the Albus comment to heart, eating his meatballs with only more gusto, rivaling Ron's. Fiona chuckled, wiping his face with a napkin before he could shovel another forkful of sausage in his mouth. He attempted to give her a sticky kiss and his son crinkled his nose and squealed 'Ew'.

Fleur sighed, drying her hands on Gabrielle's apron as she watched for Vic or any of her grandchildren to come downstairs. Louis had decided to take an apprenticeship at Beauxbatons to learn more about Veelas for his documentary, missing the family reunion. Which of course saddened everyone.

Bill followed closely, smiling, greeting Fleur by nuzzling his face in her neck.Ron and Hermione came down the stairs, his hands around her waist and giggling. Harry and Ginny following suit, looking suspiciously happy. Like satisfied cats.  Molly and Arthur smiled fondly at their children, and Arthur caught her eye, with a crinkly grin. She kissed his cheek.

Rose was surrounded by love.

"Slow down, Al! Chewing isn't optional." Rose laughed.

* * *

Scorpius’s Muggle phone had 4 missed calls on it from Yuri Yum-Yum Chinese Take-Away, which is what Zach was saved as—just in case.

“I don’t know how much longer you can take, Scorpius!” Zach yelled into his ear upon answering the phone. Always the pleasant one. Scorpius sighed, pinching his nose. “You know, a lot of people don’t get the privileges you get. If it was anyone else--”

“Look, I am trying my best. I owed you 732 Galleons. It’s been a year, and now I owe you 306 Galleons. I’m doing what you ask, if you just stay patient--”

“And another thing, how do you go from sending me 10 Galleons a month to 100 last month, what the fuck kind of game are you playing? Are you gambling more to pay off your gambling? Betting on brooms with the Goblins? Are you selling for someone else? Because I swear to God, Scorpius, if you are--”

“Zach! None of the above. Calm down, man.” Scorpius sighed, knowing that Zach was not the person to talk to under these conditions. He had a violent streak when he got paranoid like this.

“It’s that Weasley girl, isn’t it?” Zach snarled. “Well if she’s paying your way, how about she just do it in full? We need the cash, now, Scorpius.”

“No…? Yes…? Technically, but it isn’t like that. Zach, I have a plan--”

“On second thought, no fuck that. I don’t want the Weasleys in our business. They’ll draw too much attention. Pottermania. Everything will be pinned back to me. And I know you. You’d sell my skin to save your own ass. Scorpius, I swear--”

“Zach, we’re getting married.” he said. Haley looked up from her spot next to Zach, who was in shock. “We agreed that the money from the wedding will go to paying off the loan.”

“You barely know her.” Zach sneered. “Bullshit.”

“It’s not technically a lie. Me and Rose are partners on this.” Scorpius said. It felt so good to talk about the arrangement, even if it was with Zach. “You’ll have your money soon, I promise. Then you could leave me the fuck alone and I can get back to my life.”

“You don’t love her.” Zach shook his head. “Plus your engagements have a habit of falling through,” Haley bit her lip...unable to process Scorpius marrying a Weasley. She felt a pang of nostalgia and something that felt like regret but had no name sweep over her.

“That’s none of your business. You’ll get your money. Goodbye.” Scorpius hung up on Zach promptly. Zach sighed and knocked a lamp off the desk, grumbling about going to grab a firewhiskey and getting started on phase 2 immediately.

Haley laid in their bed, still in shock.

* * *

 

Scorpius slammed the phone shut as he heard footsteps crunching in the grass behind him. He whipped around to face Grandmum Weasley, kneedeep in Umbrella Flowers. Scorpius swallowed as she removed earplugs from her ears and smiled serenely at him.

“ _Decerpo_ **.** Hello Scorpius. What are you doing in my gardens?” Fruit from the tree above him floated into a nearby basket.

“Sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I hadn’t noticed...er...um, where I was going.” Molly smiled at Scorpius. He was looking at her shyly. Scorpius saw her as the head of the Weasley's along with Arthur, and that terrified him. Arthur rarely grew angry, which meant that the whole family got their stubborn and impulsive temper from her, an assumption which Molly thought was preposterous. She didn't think she was that terrifying, honestly.

" _Decerpo_ **.** Scorpius, be a dear and harvest these stairfruit for me, son. It will only be a second, and I have more meatballs and sausage than Hugo and Ron could ever shovel down. Please?" she says, holding out an ancient yellow bucket for him.

They didn't have the heart to replace more things in the Burrow, after the war. As war heroes, they could afford some new things now, and that was lovely, really it was. But honestly, she couldn't part with anything here. She could expand, of course. But retract, never.

Same with her family. Although with Fred, she had no choice. She refused to banish anyone from her family for whatever stupid thing they have done, because she couldn't stand another loss. And expanding was never a problem, most of the time. She welcomed the partners that members of her family saw fit to bring in, and Scorpius was no different.

Scorpius smiled stiffly, pointing his wand as the starfruit landed into the bucket with ease.

“How’d you settle in?” she asked. Scorpius hesitated a second too long for her taste before answering. "Now, Scorpius, am I a dragon? Although that would explain Charlie's fascination with them all, calm down, boy, I'd kiss a Dementor before I hurt you." she chuckled and Scorpius's lips twitched up in a genuine smile.

"Sorry... it's just... you all scare me." Scorpius said truthfully. "Even Rose, on occasions."

Molly laughed. " _Eradicus._ I value your honesty."

Scorpius almost cringed at that one. It would be so much easier if they would just... hate him. But alas, they had to be good people and not care about blood status or your last name or what various members of his family did to them. Bollocks.

"Now, use your honesty when I ask you this. What do you want with Rose?"

Scorpius was genuinely lost in the question. What did he want with Rose? Not why he loved her, which he didn't. He couldn't stand the way she ate her Muggle chewing gum noisily with bubbles popping out every twelve seconds. No, he really counted her intervals. And he couldn't really understand the way she turned every inch of her room at Molly II's house into a whirlwind of books, Muggle and magical. And he couldn't get the way she hated this and hated that and didn't want him to this, but she could tempt him blindly.

And yet, there was something endearing about it all. While he couldn't stand her habits, he could stand her. He could live with waking up with her every day, the way she brews coffee for him and her, as it was already a ritual, the way she's picky and cleans after every little mess he or she makes. Or how she feeds his fish when he's never even asked her too. And it wasn't like she was an eyesore to look at.

Scorpius swallowed, getting his thoughts together to answer the woman. What he wanted with Rose. That was a question he could answer.

"I guess... I just want her partnership. She's a wonderful girl, Mrs. Weasley. She's smart and dedicated and trustworthy and while stubborn and quite picky at times... I think she's someone I could live with, because I'm definitely no better." he said quietly, mumbling into the bucket, watching the snails on the ground fidget. Was this woman going to see right through him?

"Now, my dear boy, I'm just asking you this because Rosie's only been in love once. I don't know if she has told you... with Lorcan Scamander, she was. They were the dream couple, perfect really."

Scorpius's skin prickled, with a wave of annoyance flashing through his flesh. "If I may, can I ask why--"

Molly smiled. "He... was different. It was nothing wrong between them, and he did love her so, it's just that he’s a homosexual."

Scorpius bit his lip. Oh.

"But that's all water under the bridge now. Although she was hurt for a good while, and he went off to places like Spain and Mumbai, searching for creatures and their friendship was strained immensely. But it would all be alright."

Scorpius sighed. "Well... I know I'm not gay so that won't be a problem. Even if I was, I do believe I could make an exception for Rose."

Molly laughed now, standing up. "My dear boy, I don't believe that's how it works."

She placed a firm hand on his shoulder and grabbed the bucket, leaving Scorpius there, with the sticky sweet smell of syrup and the small almost undetectable metal taste of guilt in his mouth.

When he trekked back up to the house, Rose was there at the top of the steps with a boy. She bounded down the steps quickly with her holding this boy’s hand, laughing a bit. Scorpius's eyes flickered up to her face, which was smiling in a way he's never seen her. Rose spotted Scorpius and smiled, softly. The boy released her hand quickly and grabbed at Roxanne, giggling at Scorpius's direction. Rose rolled her eyes at her and looked at him. He smiled back at her.

She offered him her hand silently, and he willed himself man enough to take it it, wrapping his fingers in the spaces between hers as they stepped forward in the kitchen for dinner.

* * *

Sitting on the porch, the family was treated to a front row seat of watching the different sounds the Burrow could emit when it was filled to the brim. Currently it was Fiona screeching at the top of her lungs about the location of Jeremy’s teething wand.

“HUGO! GET THE TEETHING WAND!”

“FROM WHEEERE?”

“ACCIO IT, YA DIRTBALL!” The baby in her hands cooed loudly and giggled shrilly as he finally landed a firm grip on Fiona’s hair and pulled hard.

“Oi, love! Jesus, Jeremy! Alright, that’s it.” Fiona yelled. “Rose. Scorpius. Here. Take him. He’s been fussy all day and I can’t handle it. HUGO, you clatty prick, I _neeeeeed_ you to find the teething wand!”

Fiona almost tossed the baby in Scorpius’s lap. As Fiona stomped upstairs with Albus, Scorpius’s eyes widened at some of the curses she flew at Hugo (he had half a mind to cover Jeremy’s ears) before he realized that he was holding a baby.

  
“Scorpius.” Rose said cautiously. What she wanted to say (calm down, it’s alright, it’s just a baby, there’s nothing to be afraid of, I don’t understand why playing peek-a-boo freaks you out so much but hey to each their own) was laced in her tone.

“Rose.” He answered, very unsure of what to do in this situation but making sure he acknowledged that he understood what she meant.

Jeremy looked at him curiously. His face was blank in every way possible, no sign of an overwhelming emotion. But Scorpius knew better. The baby looked at Rose and then back at Scorpius.

“Holding nephews were never part of the deal” Scorpius hissed. Rose rolled her eyes. “Unless I didn’t read the fine print or something.”

“No, it was just heavily implied.” Rose sat down on the couch, Scorpius following suit. “Just rock him a bit. He’s a calm baby, just teething, you will be fine.”

“Hello.” Scorpius said. He bounced his knee a little (a little bit out of fear) and allowed Jeremy to grip his fingers. Jeremy smiled up at Scorpius, showing off his dimples. When he started bouncing a little bit faster, Jeremy babbled and Scorpius nodded firmly and made a noise of acknowledgement, as if he understood what was being said wholeheartedly.

Rose tried not to stare at Scorpius but failed.

Jeremy grunted and reached for Scorpius’s face, trying to bop him on the nose. Scorpius jerked out of his reach, smiling a little bit as the baby giggled. A teasing game ensued, where Scorpius would lean forward and then quickly moved out of reach, something that Rose had to smile at.

“Babies aren’t my thing.” Scorpius shook his head. “This kid must be easy to impress.”

“I don’t know what you were so afraid of.” Rose muttered as Jeremy giggled again. “He likes you.”

“Oh, I can take him for you.” Lily and her knack for ruining moments appeared again. “Besides, Al and James said they had a surprise for both of you on the porch.”

Rose watched Scorpius transfer Jeremy to Lily’s lap and smiled at her nephew before stepping outside. Instantly, Rose was greeted with a meatball hitting her square in the cheek.

“What the—“

“Meatball Quidditch, Rose!” James shrieked from his broom. “You’re on my team!” 

So for the rest of the evening until it got dark, she and James waged a war against Teddy and Fred, with Scorpius and Albus joining in. Upon landing her broom, she saw her mother smiling disapprovingly in an endearing way (the way only her mother ever could). when Scorpius grabbed her by the hips, lifting her a little, and used her as a human shield against James. Rose laughed heartily as James grabbed Albus and on the count of 3, both Rose and Albus had a faceful of spaghetti anyway.

“Alright, I’m taking a shower!” Rose screamed after the impromptu food fight on the backyard porch. Rose pushed Scorpius away but he grabbed her hand and held her close.

“Let me go, Scorpius!” Rose couldn’t help but laugh at all the tomato paste in his hair--almost enough to make him look like a Weasley.

“Not until you promise not to hex me for this later, I had no choice.” he joked, wiping a meatball from her hair.

“No choice, my ass.” Rose pushed him. Scorpius smiled and bent down to kiss her. Kissing him almost felt like nothing these days, the weirdness had devolved. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands flirted with her waist. They broke away when they heard a knock on the window and saw Ron Weasley’s scowling face. Rose rolled her eyes.

“Alright since you two coupled the game up, I vote someone clean this up. I nominate Albus!” James said, his finger flying to his nose with Fred and Teddy following suit.

“Fred!”

“You are the best at Charms, Al.”

After helping Al finish his cleaning charms, Scorpius had rushed upstairs with him, trying to avoid running into Ron Weasley alone. Al went to join Parvani in their room and he wanted to do the same with his girl but Rose was still in the shower, singing her heart out to Warbeck. Scorpius entered the room, greeted by her shrill warbles. He laughed and contemplated entering the bathroom. Fighting with Rose took his mind off things. Plus, she was practically his wife. He was allowed to do this.

Rose screeched as he opened the door and he couldn't help but laugh. She started tossing water and soap at him, yelling for him to get out and he laughed more, feeling lighter. She gripped for her wand but pouted when she realized she had left it outside the shower. Scorpius sat on the counter watching her.

"You're a Grade A pervert," she moaned, crossing her arms.

"There really isn't much to see, babe." He said without thinking. Rose's jaw dropped and her attack on him was more forceful than before. Scorpius realized how his words could've been interpreted.

"Now, now, Rose, I meant that there's too much steam in this room and the glass doors are kind of… weirdly altered so, it would look like a blobbed swirl of freckly skin really."

"My grand-dad likes Muggle things; apparently glass doors are all the rage." She said quietly in explanation.

"Need help doing your back?" Scorpius teased and Rose squeaked indignantly, which caused Scorpius to chuckle. "I was kidding, dear Rose. You know better than anyone, I would never touch a lady without her invitation." He said, rolling his eyes at her attempt to cover herself up.

She bit her lip and Scorpius couldn't help but feel the tension stuff the room. It was suffocating.

"I'll see you in your room in a minute." She whispered and Scorpius nodded, letting himself out.

Rose sighed, standing in the shower a minute longer. This whole trip had been eye-opening and there was still 4 more days left. Oh god. The jury was still out on whether or not she and Scorpius would survive.


	13. Chapter 13

He awoke to Rose's face planted in his chest, hair splayed out like a cape, using half-the-stuffed-penguin, half-Scorpius's-arm as a pillow. Her eyes were shut firmly, she could sleep for days. A slight whistling sound came from her nose and her lips parted slightly. Wasn't this the way he had imagined her to sleep? He and Rose had never slept in the same bed together, unless drunk. Rose had a room of her own whenever she slept over.

Her eyes began to open sometime, he did not know when. All he remembered was that he had definitely been looking at her the whole time.

"Morning sunshine," he murmured and without thinking about it, bent down to kiss her forehead. Rose did not pull away and berate him for putting up the act behind closed doors. She sighed lowly.

“We should go ring shopping today.” Rose instead said. “I’m gonna be busy these next couple weeks and we should just go to Worthington’s while we’re in town.”

“What’s Worthington's?” Scorpius mumbled, sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eye.

“It’s this Muggle jewel shop just outside of town.” Rose sighed. “They won’t know us there. Pay attention for when you ask Vani for what kind of ring I want. Which I know is months away, I just wanna be prepared.”

They rolled out of bed and quickly dressed. Rose pulled out her wand, pointed it at his head and dyed his hair brown--just to be safe. Scorpius grabbed her hand and his wand, silently asking for permission to apparate. Rose nodded, squeezing her eyes shut before she felt the unfamiliar pull at her gut.

“Well, gorgeous, I don’t understand. You dyed our hair brown and you’re wearing a hat, sunglasses and tight, very tight jeans--which you should consider wearing more often-- no one in the wizarding world would recognize you if we went to a real shop. Why here?” Scorpius asked as they looked at Worthington’s Jewellers in all of its glory. Rose rolled her eyes at his shit-eating grin. He’d taken a liking to using passive aggressive terms of endearment against her.

“Well, this is where my Mum got her ring.” Rose replied. “If I’m getting fake married, I’m doing it in style.”

“Well, love, after you.” Scorpius said, letting her walk in front of him. Rose walked forward for a second before pausing.

“Sweetheart?”

“Yes, dear.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be using a moment of chivalry to stare at my ass so early in the morning, would you, darling?”

“You know I most definitely am, beautiful. But don’t worry, pumpkin, I’ll behave for the Muggles.”

“Speaking of putting your head inside of a giant pumpkin, honey, don’t make hex you.” Rose sighed and continued walking with Scorpius behind her.

They both entered Worthington’s apprehensively. Rose had never been in this situation. She and Lorcan never talked about marriage. They never even bought each other jewellry.

“This is gonna be weird.” Rose grabbed his hand, as she saw every other couple in the room was positioned that way. “And Scorpius, promise that you’re gonna be on time for the party tomorrow. It’s very important.”

“Don’t worry, angel. I’ll be there. Can we get coffee after I watch you pick this ring? And none of that bloody Starbucks you fancy so much--I want Dunkin Donuts.”

“Yes we can.” Rose sighed.

* * *

 

Morgan Zabini could only say one thing. Holy moley, Weasley gossip sure knew how to spread.

Morgan worked as a tattoo artist at Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoos all the way in Knockturn Alley, and even she knew about the whole Scorpius and Rose drama. Pictures surfaced every night of them at the Weasley Burrow during their famous Reunion season, which had a party at the end of the weekend that the Wizarding World considered to be the mark of Dumbledore’s Army’s true legacy or some shit like that. How truly fucking odd it was to see Scorpius there.

Ah, Scorpius. He was her little sister's best friend, Morgan eventually dated him, and then he was engaged to her cousin for years... he had taken her family for quite a spin. They'd grown up together. He'd been with them since Beth's birth, to Beth's death, and through Haley's strange “disappearance” in Paris with Zach Yates…

She knew all about Zach’s operation. Selling Wizarding and Muggle drugs to models and celebrities out of some warehouse in God knows where, France. She’d tried to convince Haley that Zach Yates wasn’t worth losing family and friends and a fiance over. But Haley’s mind was made up. And Morgan couldn’t take another heartbreak like she had with Beth, so she just stopped talking to Haley and in turn Scorpius all together. Pretended like they never existed. And she was hurt for a long time.

But she had long since gotten over that.

The last person she expected to see after closing while she wiping down her chair after performing a stupid tattoo of Merlin in a bikini on a certainly drunk man was Haley herself.

Morgan blinked shock out of her eyes. She looked at Haley’s thin arms and saw the tattoo of Beth laughing that they both shared on their left arm. It was her.

“Hello cousin.” Haley smiled. “We have a party to go to.”

“Haley? Where the fuck have you been and what party are you talking about?” Morgan moved behind her chair and grabbed her wand. Haley didn’t even blink. Morgan had a bad feeling about this.

“No need for that wand.” Haley smirked. “Come with me, cousin.”

“Fuck no. _Gelesco._ ” Morgan shook her head, fiercely, wand ready as she planted Haley's feet to the floor. “I’m not going anywhere with you when you’re still with this fucking Yates guy, Haley. I’m done trying to help you.”

“Don’t think of it as helping me, think of it as helping Scorpius..”

“What--”

“Then again...who really said you have a choice?”

The next thing she remembers was the psychotic laugh coming from Haley and a man grabbed her wand hand and held it behind her back. A wand was pointed at her head.

“Shit.”

* * *

 That night, Rose stood in her room and paced, trying to get the nerves out before having to decorate the Burrow tomorrow. It wasn’t working. Vani had left their room to bring her a snack, insisting that coffee and potato chips would cure it.

When Vani had waddled back into her room, it was with sudden urgency. She was beautiful, even with the swollen belly telling everyone in a five-mile radius that she was expecting. But her news was so not beautiful.

"I know you’re already stressed but guess what I heard from Usnavi from work about who’s coming tomorrow night?" she whispered, "To the gathering. You will never guess Rose, never. Morgan Zabini just told papers she wanted to see Scorpius again before leaving for Wales. You have to watch DA Watch tonight." Parvani hissed. It took a moment, aka Parvani explaining to her who the devil that was.

And with that explanation fresh in her mind, Rose shook her head. Scorpius's ex-girl at Hogwarts, she now knew. Morgan Zabini? What was she coming for? Her dad did not mix with her parents and Scorpius... and and and... the anger was making her irrational. It was Hogwarts. It was a long time ago. They broke up after graduation. She’s moving to Wales. It was an open party with security there, it was okay.

So when she told him, him choking on his coffee and spitting it out wasn't the reaction she wanted. And the way he said her name, in shock, afterwards was no better. He was at a loss of air, really, and she had no idea why. Sure they dated. Sure he had been close to her younger sister, Beth and their cousin Haley? So what? There was so much she didn't know. The thought struck her as odd. She thought she knew everything about Scorpius and the fact that she clearly didn’t was pissing her off.

“Scorpius.” Rose blinked at him. “Who is she?”

His throat closed up and he started touching his fingers to the tip of his pointer finger. He didn't answer her.

“Are you okay? Is this still about the Zabinis?” she said, stepping closer to him and placing a hand on his shoulder

“Yeah, I’m okay.” he said in a watery voice.. Scorpius placed a habitual hand on her waist. She was warm.

“You don’t have to be.” Rose murmured, just as warm as she felt. “I know my family can be a lot and this whole Zabini situation, if you need to--”

“No, I said it’s okay.  Scorpius snapped at her. Rose blinked, taking the hit like it was nothing.

“Come on, Scorpius. I’m not used to people pushing me away so much.” Rose sighed at him. ‘Usually, that’s me.”

“And I’m not used to people pretending they care so much!” he untangled his hand from her waist. “Why do you even care so much, Rose?”

"You're kidding right?" she laughed. "Coming from the man who begs me to trust him every other day. Hypocritical, much?"

He didn't answer her. He fumbled around his pockets for a cigarette.

“It’s not just my family or the plan.” Rose said calmly. “It’s never been just this. What’s going on with you lately, Scorpius? Are we going to talk about it?” Rose finally broke the seal on what she’d been noticing--his secretiveness, his phone calls, his nervous tick had all been becoming more prevalent. Scorpius looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact with her.

“Rose.” Scorpius said, he swallowed and his eyes glazed over. “I have to tell you some things. Bad things. About me and my past, and you’re not gonna like them.”

“What is it?” Rose whispered.

“I was in a hard place after my mom almost died. When I fell off of the face of the Earth, I wasn’t just managing my ex’s modeling career...I used to sell drugs.”

Rose blinked, trying to swallow that one. “Okay…”

“I owe a lot of money to my dealer. My dealer is tied to the Zabini family--my ex-fiance specifically, who now fucks him.” Rose’s blank face was beginning to worry him though. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so blunt but he couldn’t have said this any other way.

“Scorpius, hold on--”

“She might be coming to get me.” he finished. He had to get it out. And it felt so good not lying to her anymore. “Rose?” Scorpius said in the tiniest voice imaginable. She had never seen this side of him before.“Rose, I’m sorry. If you want to call off the plan or if you want to hex me, I promise I won’t even hold it against you. I should have told you from the start and this is all my fault.”

Rose didn’t know what to think. Sure, she knew Scorpius had kind of a banged up past that they never quite talk about. She never really thought drug dealer--that just never quite crossed his mind. And now here he was, an ex-drug dealer and her future fiance, telling her that his own ex was coming to do god knows what to him (or her or her family) to get the money he owed his dealer out of him. Amazing.

“So you’re telling me that this whole time...you’ve had a debt to pay off with your dealer and have been using our marriage scheme as a publicity stunt to get the money you need?” Rose sat down on his bed, thinking this out.

“Well…?” Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah.”

“And that your ex-girlfriends, who are also involved in the drug dealing thing, are teaming up to...possibly extort you...at my family’s reunion?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“Well, why didn’t you just say so?” Rose asked, genuine relief sweeping over her. “That’s nothing. James does all of that and more in a day in New York. We’ve all done way worse in this family when it comes to scandal, you at least could have told me about this shit. I should hex you right now for keeping me out of the loop.”

Now it was Scorpius’s turn to be shocked. “Rose. Are you...we’re in danger, Rose.”

“Of what?” Rose shrugged. “You clearly have a dumb drug dealer if he thinks that our backyard isn’t going to have the most talented Aurors in the country in it. No one’s going to lay a finger on you, I promise. I thought she was coming to ruin the plan, that’s what I was worried about.”

“Rose, this is insane. You shouldn’t have to worry about protecting me.” Scorpius scoffed.

“Look, if she wants to get to you, she’s gonna have to get through me, and to get to me she’s gonna have to get through about 1000 Weasley affiliates.” Rose shook her head. Scorpius watched the confidence she spoke with for any wavering. There was none. “It’s just not realistic.”

“This is different though.” She had never seen this side of him before--this must be what she sounded like in the beginning of the plan.“Rose, I’m sorry. If you want to call off the plan right now,I promise I won’t even hold it against you. I should have told you from the start and this is all my fault. I can’t believe I even let--”

“Scorpius Malfoy.” Rose cut through his rant with her sharp tone. “A wise man once told me to grow up, stop acting like you can’t trust me, and help me finish what we started. ” Rose stood up and forced him to look her in the eyes. “And that wise man, although he may be a fucking idiot sometimes, was right. We all have shit in our past. You don’t judge me for being a former alcoholic whose house got robbed and was in love with a gay man for 5 years, I don’t judge you for this. We can do this, Scorpius. Now I’m going to go downstairs, watch TV with my family, and you are going to join me and we’re going to act like nothing happened.”

She placed a kiss on his cheek quickly and left with a bounce in her step, leaving him to wonder what had just really happened.


	14. Chapter 14

She went downstairs, shocked but still ready for the upcoming challenge ahead. So what if Scorpius had a gang of evil- ex girlfriends who were out to get him? So what that he owed a drug dealer money. Rose has dealt with worse and has done worse. It was fine. Right?

Rose found herself alone in the kitchen, trying to shake off the nerves that came over her subtly before Scorpius saw her again. She heard someone come down the back steps and enter the kitchen.

“Scorpius?” Rose called as the person entered her line of sight.

“No, love, it’s me.” her dad said.

"Oh my God, Dad, you scared me." Rose sighed, smiling.

"I needed to get my Wizard cards from the cupboard, your cousins are quite willing to make an exchange. And I thought I saw him disappear into your room." Ron's eyes flashed and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Dad. I’m not a little girl anymore, you don’t have to--"

"Oh, come off it Rose, I know you're not. I'm surprised I haven't heard more from you and this one." Ron Weasley looked almost sick at the thought. Rose blinked at him. "I'm just saying Rose. I'm just saying."

"I thought you already got that out of your system, hating him." Rose whispered, biting her lip softly, sounding very much like a vulnerable and naive little girl in front of her daddy. Ron snorted.

"Rosie..., I only promised your mother that I'd be civil to him. For this trip. I have plenty of time to make sure you realize the dramatic measures you're taking. Sure, your house was robbed, your stuff is still gone, and you were mad at your mother for pressuring you into domestic life for security, I understand why you would want to punish us, but anybody but him would've worked so much better."

Rose's mouth dropped down in shock. "Are you kidding me? I love him Daddy! He's... He's not a statement, he's a man that I want to marry." The lie was rolling too smooth off her tongue. And even though what her father thought wasn’t the truth, it was as good as. Rose was now looking in hindsight and she saw everything her father saw, and it wasn't enough. She thought that by her mother's protection of them, that they were safe. They reverted to their day to day routine. It wasn't enough.

Ron shook his head. "I don't know, Rose. He’s just not for you."

Rose groaned, rage building up at her. "Why doesn't Mum have a problem with this? Huh? Why is it always you? Why can't you just... why don't you want me to be happy?" Rose was beginning to yell now and Ron tried to shush her, but ended up almost yelling himself.

"You don't think this kills your mother? To look at her daughter, her own flesh and blood, look into the same eyes of the flesh and blood of the woman who tortured her and the man who taunted her endlessly for at least 6 years, constantly and nonstop, Rose, it kills her. But she's never been vocal about discomfort, and she wants what you delude yourself to be happy. It's killing her."

"Great, now I have both of my parents protesting the only thing that has ever made me truly happy in a long time. You don't understand how depressed I was after Lorcan, I could barely eat or do my job, and then I got robbed and... and... I was so unhappy, even in the beginning of our relationship. He's the only thing that kept me going." Rose was yelling now.

"Oh, okay, Rose, so you'll die without him. How is this not being melodramatic?" Ron rolled his eyes.

"Because it's true." Rose yelled. She stormed past him, past the living room, and pointed her wand at the case of firewhiskey by the dining room table.

* * *

 

He still hadn’t processed that he’d actually told Rose. Rose knew. She knew basically everything. No, he was fairly certain she knew everything. He didn’t hold anything back when talking to her. He couldn’t believe that she reacted so easily. It was easy, almost too easy. In fact he couldn’t believe it so much he had to follow up with her, just to make sure he actually did and she wasn’t just running away from the problem at hand. He went downstairs to search for her.

But she wasn’t there. And he had a bad feeling about this. It wasn’t like Rose to disappear.

On his way out of her room, Scorpius saw Hugo by the foot of the stairs, who was running his hand through his hair and pacing. Fiona soon entered the picture and shook her head at him.

“Are ya sure you saw her walk out with the firewhiskey?” Fiona sighed. “I even checked the gardens and I didn’t see her anywhere.”

“I’m positive, Fi.” Hugo said earnestly, rolling up his sleeve to expose a nasty wound. Fiona, ever the healer, gasped. “I tried to stop her but she jinxed me, stung my arm.”

Fiona tutted, placing a hand on his arm. “Come on, let’s go patch this up. If that’s the kind of mood she’s in, we’ll deal with her when she comes back. She can’t Apparate or Floo without anyone knowing and the clock says she’s still at the Burrow...if your arm swells up anymore it’s going to fall off.”

“At least she didn’t stick my tongue to the roof of my mouth this time.” Hugo shook his head before allowing Fiona to lead him towards the kitchen.

It took him a second, but he knew exactly where she was.

 

* * *

 

Rose was on the roof of the Burrow, trying not to drown in a bottle of firewhiskey and contemplating the ground beneath her when Scorpius showed up.

He was alone, smoking, and looked at Rose with a tiny familiar smile when she remembered what had happened moments ago--vaguely.

“Scorpius. Good on you to stop by.”

“You told me that you hate heights. Let’s say we get off your roof.”

“You remembered.” Rose shook her head, ignoring his request. “I can handle myself.”

“Maybe I’ll believe you if you put that bottle down.”

“Okay...you just told me you used to deal drugs and you expect me to swallow this sober?”  
“That’s not fair, Rose.”

“You know...this is where I came after anything bad happened when I was little. Like after getting in trouble for hitting Lily or something, I’d come up here and think about running away. And then the day that everything just started happening at once, like after Hugo told us that Fiona was pregnant. After Mum almost lost the nomination. After me and Lorcan went to shit and when the house got robbed. After my dad flatlined.”

“Rose, you don’t have to--”

“I almost lost him. My dad.” Rose piped up. “It was a while ago. He had a heart attack at Christmas. St. Mungo himself and everyone in there told him he needed to eat better and walk more but he refused. Almost died if they didn’t force feed him carrots. And it was such bad timing--everyone in my family, and I mean everything was going straight to shit. But it’s not like...I didn’t come up here to do anything stupid. Just to think about what I’d do without him. Both him and Lorcan.” She kicked a rock off the roof. “It was the first time I saw Mum really cry.” Rose’s throat clogged up and she couldn’t speak anymore.”

“My mum had Scrofungulus. And I knew for a long time, I just couldn’t say anything.” Scorpius hadn’t said these words in years. She turned to look at him and he moved closer. He stood next to her on the roof. It expressed a lot of purpose--empathy, a warning, concern, all of the above. “My dad and Grandmum didn’t cry. Wouldn’t let themselves. My aunt was bawling like a baby. It was the first time Grandad called her his daughter-in-law. She was trying to protect us. She just ended up seeming so small. And cold. Sometimes, I look at her and I remember how small she looked and I just know it can’t be possible that that was the same woman. And for a long time, I did anything I could to numb that picture out. Dealing, for one. Drugs, for another.”

“Why do you always have to one-up me in tragedies?” Rose mumbled her attempt at comic relief, kicking another rock off of the roof.

“Don’t worry, I know it’s not a competition.” he joked back.

Rose and Scorpius stood in silence for a bit as he let that sentence trail off. She turned to look at him. At this point, the cigarette had been extinguished. He stared ahead at the fields before them, eyes glossy. Rose lifted her hand to give him the bottle of Ogden’s firewhiskey. He accepted it willingly.

“Rose...it’s just that...I just want you to know that I get it. Needing a fix? Some days are really hard, and I just want to take one hit or do one line but I don’t.” Scorpius sniffed again. “And you wanna know why? I don’t think I would get through some of them without the structure and the expectations this plan gives me. Not without you.”

Rose’s heart thumped against her will.She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. He looked back down at her, trying to convey how much he meant the next words that were coming out of his mouth. And he did. He meant them so much that it even scared him to say.

“So when I found out that Morgan was coming. I just want you to know Rose, I didn’t know what to do.” Scorpius said. “I got so scared. And it wasn’t even all about Zach the Dealer or anything, I knew that I had to tell you everything because I was terrified that if you heard it from her that...that this would all end. And that I would lose this. And I can’t lose another person, not after my mom, not after Beth...so if I did...”

She shouldn’t trust him. He didn’t deserve her trust if he thought about it logically--he had just admitted to lying to her--to everyone--for a long time. He’d already proven what evil he was capable of.

“I believe you, Scorpius.” she said after a second. “I don’t know why and I know I probably shouldn’t but I believe in you. I’m committed to this plan...and to you.”

Scorpius watched Rose’s face the whole time he was talking. The honesty in her voice was killing him. After everything he had done, she could still see good. And that’s all he’s ever wanted.

So when he looked at her again and the strong urge to kiss the life out of her came over him, he could not resist.

He bent down quicker than he thought, took her chin in his hands and tilted her head for him. Their lips met tentatively and quickly.

This wasn’t a kiss from him that she recognized. The others had been hot and heady--driven by sexual desire, this one was tender and soft. This one made her feel different, this one made her feel appreciated. His hands placed themselves firmly around her waist, enveloping her...making her feel warm all over. He was treating her like a delicate thing, something so precious and important. She cradled his face, tracing words into his cheek as he opened his mouth to her.

She could have stayed in that moment for a long time.

But she pulled away from the kiss, legs shaking--not at the action but what it meant. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, watching her face with such intensity. She didn’t feel like he was undressing her with his eyes but she did feel naked. And that’s when she realized that she had fucked up. She thought that she could control this. Feelings were the exact opposite of what they needed. Maybe they shouldn’t have had this whole big heart to heart. But the way that her knees got weak when he pressed his lips against hers said otherwise.

Her dad’s words came back to her. How could Scorpius not be for her, when the way he looks at her makes her feel human again? Rose began to realize that for all the pleasure she denied him and more importantly herself, she could pay them both back now...and prove her dad wrong, both at the same time. The passion came bubbling back as Rose’s hands reached for the back of his neck and pulled him closer, making their lips meet again. He pulled away for a moment out of shock before she bit at his lip, drawing into her mouth. His mind faltered for a second, unable to think of anything but her for a couple of seconds which should have been more troubling than he was considering it. His hands began to wander and she broke free to speak against his lips.

“Scorpius?” Rose breathed. “I think your hickies are fading.”

“Well, dear..that’s not good.” Scorpius smirked, knowing good and well that he was too pale for that to be true. His eyes were fixated on the way her lips poked and pouted, pretending to be dissatisfied with her own work on his collarbones.

“This won’t do. Yeah...I should fix that, right?” Rose murmured.

“Of course.”

“We...we should go to my room and do that, right?” Rose’s voice took on an almost unrecognizable husky quality that rendered him unable to do anything but swallow and nod. He fumbled around for the wand in his jacket and proceeded to Apparate them to her room. Upon entry, she pushed him backwards until he stumbled onto her bed.

She trailed her lips feverishly back down his neck, leaving one or two doozies of a hickey for sure, not answering any of his ill-timed questions of why she liked giving hickeys so much but finally she shut him up by the placement of a searing open mouthed kiss on his pulse point. Scorpius sighed loudly, and bit his bottom lip to contain the noise. He grabbed her legs, and pulled them around his waist. He gave Rose’s ass a playful smack, to which she let out a yelp which made him want to do that over and over again. He let her hands muss up his hair and scratch at his neck because he was intent on hearing that noise again.

"Oh my god." Rose groaned as Scorpius cupped her ass again, squeezing it. She interlaced her fingers behind his neck and pulled him up towards her lips.

“Do you want me?” Rose asked him. Scorpius’s eyes glazed over as her hips rubbed against his lap, the friction becoming too big of a burden to bear.

“Rose, maybe we shouldn’t. I don’t think you fully understand the scope of my horniness right now, so unless you’re sure--”

“Come on, Scorpius. Just tell me you want me.” Rose said again, lifting her shirt slowly...teasingly. Scorpius licked his lips involuntarily. She was taunting him, daring him to say no. If he said no, she would probably just shrug and rub one out in front of him, which would give him a permanent hard-on. Her breasts were starting to show and he was mesmerized by the time he was greeted with nipple..

“Rose, fuck...I want you.” he panted, as if he’d been begging her to ask this question, like that question was the words he’d been dying to hear. And suddenly, he was everywhere, his hands pressing against her back, his lips frantically connecting with her collarbone, and her hands rolled up her shirt and soon it was off, over her head and somewhere far far away. She was before him in only her black panties, the one she likes to sleep in and nothing to drool over but his jaw couldn’t help but drop.

“I want you too.” Rose murmured. “And I want everyone to hear us.”

Scorpius smirked at her, mischievously, suddenly realizing what she really meant.

“You really want to know why I like to give hickeys?” Rose whispered, nails dug into the back of his neck. “It’s because you’re mine. And I want everyone to know that, especially my dad.”

“Rose Weasley, I think you’re using me.” Scorpius smirked. Rose bit particularly hard before licking the spot she bit, soothing the bruise.

“You love it.” She countered after she pulled away from his neck.

His lips dove forward, and he kissed above her tits, in a way Lorcan never did. He traveled downwards, veering right with his heavenly lips and mouth and his tongue and then cupping left with his fingers squeezing and kneading, in a way Rose knows Lorcan would never do. She was letting out embarrassing sighs and moans as his tongue worked magic and his fingers rolled her nipples between his fingers. She let out a scream as he pinched her gently.

“Scorpius…” Rose gasped. Scorpius’s head started to swim. He had no idea what got into Rose but he was grateful. He needed to hear her say his name again, so he began to lay her down on her back.

His fingers deftly reached the waistband of her pajama shorts, ghosting over them--asking for permission. Rose obliged and Scorpius peeled her shorts off and pushed her underwear to the side deftly. Rose almost felt like crying when his fingers situated themselves because why haven't they ever done this before.

“Fuck,” Rose whimpered, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. It had been awhile for her, he could tell. He was more than willing to catch her up. He added a second finger.“Oh, fuck. Yes, Scorpius.”

“Oh God, Rose, say my name again.” Scorpius would never get tired of hearing her say it like that.

“Never.” Rose replied, challenging him. “Work for it.”

Scorpius smirked at her, too confident, and within seconds she felt his fingers slip out and his tongue slide in. She was seeing stars, grabbing his hair, and trying her hardest not to buck embarrassingly against his mouth while repeating his name over and over and over...


	15. Chapter 15

Rose hated morning afters.

She woke up before Scorpius and laid there. His arms were wrapped around her waist tightly and her head was firmly on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and occasional snore. She tried to wiggle free from his grip--didn’t work. Scorpius wouldn’t let her go if she tried. She laid awake, wondering how she could have been this dumb.

They had sex. They definitely had sex.

“Fuuuuuuuuck.” Rose drawled loudly, bringing her free hand to her face. Scorpius stirred and turned to face her.

“Hello, love.” he said, moving over and allowing her space to sit up. Rose took the space gladly.

“One rule, Scorpius.” Rose muttered. “We had one rule and we broke it. We broke it twice. And a half.”

“I know.” Scorpius grabbed her hand and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her the surface of it, the way she does to him. Rose shook her head.

“Please don’t look at me right now, I’m all sinus-y in the morning.” Rose took her hand back and hiding her face completely from him.

“No, Princess...not at all...I think you look very beautiful.” Scorpius said, grabbing her chin and making her look at him, trying to convey that he wasn’t kidding.

“Stop flirting with me when there’s no one to see.” Rose muttered. “This is a serious breach of contract.”

“Hey, snot is the new sexy.”

“You’re so aggravating!” Rose couldn’t help but laugh, pushing him away. Scorpius grabbed her wrist and used his other hand to tickle her stomach. Rose squealed in protest, jerking away from his touch. He grabbed her waist as she dropped on his bed, dissolving in laughter. He towered over her and grabbed her leg to tickle her foot, an action which made her tap out.

“Okay!” Rose yelled, out of breath. She had ended up settled in between his legs, breathing hard with a flushed face. Rose badly wanted an excuse to kiss him. There was never a good one when she wanted to, which annoyed her.

“We can’t do this again.” Rose breathed.

“I know.” Scorpius breathed back. “But I really want to.”

“Me too. So maybe--”

Suddenly the doors weren't so closed. James Potter and Fred Weasley burst in in their dress robes, while a cool and calm Albus sauntered in after them. They pulled apart and Rose's skin flared up. James covered his eyes and Fred whistled.

Al shrugged. "I told you she'd be here."

"Shut up, Vic told you." Fred teased and Albus scoffed. "Go on, tell her."

“Lunch is on if you want to actually eat food today” James said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I know you two worked up quite an appetite last night, so we let you sleep through breakfast but we can’t let you sleep past meeting Great Grannie Tessie.”

“Also DA Watch is going to be on soon.” Fred said, nudging James to get him to stop wiggling his eyebrows.

“We’ll be down soon.” Rose muttered. “Now get out.”

James ran downstairs again to join Dom and Molly in watching GossipWand. Being on the news was something they were used to but Dom, Molly, and James would never get tired of seeing themselves. Rose groaned as Fred and Albus laughed after him. Scorpius patted her hand as she looked at the time: 12 PM. Rose hated waking up early when the Burrow was full and she didn’t have any coffee yet.

"How did they bloody find me here? Fucking leeches." Rose groaned and complained as she magicked her dress robes from the other room and started slipping them on.

"ROSE! Come see you!" Hugo shouted, his tone implying that if she didn't comply, he would definitely go and get her.

Scorpius gestured to her, a nonverbal 'after you' being said.

Rose gulped and blushed a tell-tale red all over again, rushing downstairs. Scorpius bit back a tell-tale, at least for Albus, grin.They descended the stairs, where everyone was buzzing with their wands going and decorating the Burrow. Dom was busy dressing up everyone around her, speaking in rapid fire French with her mom as she fixed her dad’s tie. Hermione, Ron, and Harry were all standing around the TV. The pale woman with a fake nose and purple-ish lips came back on the screen. Rose gripped his hand and moved closer.

"Rose Weasley, daughter of two-thirds of the fabulous Golden Trio-"

Ron and Hermione gave a slight cheer. "That's us." Ron announced. "By the way." Harry chuckled, as Ginny and practically everyone rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"-and Scorpius Malfoy, son of reformed bad boy Draco Malfoy, have been spotted together yet again and looking rather cozy. Let's see if we can bring up some footage."

"Footage?" Rose moaned, as he groaned. The lady on the screen brought the image of them on a screen, just outside of a muggle Starbucks. She groaned, as she remembered yesterday morning. The hair dye charm had just worn off. They had been arguing over whether or not to go to muggle Starbucks (him) or muggle Dunkin Donuts (her), and he had won. So he had been particularly happy. Too happy.

After apparating, Scorpius reached her quickly and pulled her into a lazy hug from behind, she remembers it as a thank you for letting him go to peeled his arms off her and grabbed his hand to propel her forward. Rose was laughing considerably hard... which subsided into what Rose recognized as horridly girlish giggles. She looked at Scorpius, embarrassed. Were they always so comfortable around each other?

Well... she knew that wasn't true, because at one point she had truly given up on him and in the beginning, it was the most awkward thing they've both ever done. She honestly asked herself how they got through it, but a nagging little voice always answered her question with the answer she had always been avoiding: together. They got through it together.

Lily looked at the screen, slightly in envy, as Scorpius placed a hand on her waist as she orders, for him and for her. Lysander was supposed to be here by now. Rose was blushing hard as everyone started to take the piss about how cute they were and Ron Weasley feigned throwing up and everyone was laughing, except Rose who pretended to scowl and Scorpius, who smiled down at her. Lily did not laugh. She caught Hugo's eye and realized that he had been watching her. He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged.

“But that’s not all.”Rose’s eyes snapped back to the screen.

“Bollocks.” Scorpius whispered.

“We zoomed in for a second here on the hunch of one of our interns and you wouldn’t believe what we saw in the back pocket of Mr. Malfoy...if you read carefully it says Worthington’s Jewellers, a local Wizard-friendly ring shop. Although their attempts to be discreet worked to an extent and we don’t have the pics to prove it, I’d say things in Scorose Land are going pretty well. Coming up, widow Luna Lovegood and widower Neville Longbottom--close friends catching up for tea or something more?”

As the TV went for commercial, it was dead silent in the living room, except for light guffaws from James and Fred, Teddy telling them to shut up, Parvani’s gasp, Hugo and Fiona cursing in unison, and the comically wide eyes of Lucy which spoke louder than words.

“...Well...that was nice…” Dom said finally. “Last one to the backyard is an erkling!”

Everyone seemed to topple over each other in order to make it out of an awkward situation and out of Ron and Rose’s spell path. Even Arthur tried to slip out.

“Well, this is gonna be fun,” Rose whispered. “Play dead.”

“Way ahead of you.” Scorpius gulped.

“Okay, before you start, It was nothing!” Rose said immediately. Rose’s father’s expression hadn’t changed yet, still in shock. Scorpius closed his eyes and said a silent prayer behind her.

“What the bloody hell was he doing at Worthington’s, anyway?” her mother said, pinching back a migraine.

“Gift. It was a gift.” Rose said, trying to think up a convincing lie clearly. “We were going to buy a necklace for his mother’s birthday soon, he wanted my help, I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Bullshit.” Hermione waved the excuse away.

“Look, if I wanted to marry Scorpius, I would have done it already. I want to marry Scorpius one day. But not today.” Rose said, holding his hand so he didn’t get too scared. It was too late. A bomb had been dropped. Rose heard a gasp from upstairs and rolled her eyes, realizing that everyone probably had their WWW Extendable Ears. Well, they were certainly getting their money’s worth.

“Are you pregnant?” Rose’s mother asked, calmly.

“No, ma.” Rose shook her head. “I swear. I just want to be with him.”

“YOU’VE BEEN DATING FOR LESS THAN 9 MONTHS! WHAT DO YOU MEAN MARRIAGE?” Ron Weasley yelled and stood to his feet. Her mother sighed, snatching her father’s wand from his back pocket before he could do anything stupid. Scorpius copied her move. “You don’t know each other! Are you mad? Or are you acting stupid like this on purpose? Look, whatever we did to make you feel like you have to act out at the tender age of 24, we’re sorry. But this isn’t happening, Rose, end of story.”

“You can’t tell me who I can be with.” Rose hissed, steely-eyed and defensive.

“You can bet your ass I just did.” Ron said, just as steely-eyed.

“Ronald, Rose, please.” Hermione said, to no avail. Neither of them listened.

“Say whatever you want, Dad. Anything you want. It won’t matter. You’re not ruining this for me. You don’t control me. You’re not even our biggest obstacle.” Rose glowered at him as Scorpius cowered behind her.

“You’d really do this, Rose?” Ron hissed, eyes wild and trained on her. “This is family. This is blood. This is about legacy. Years ago, this very same man would have called you a mudblood and spat in your face without a second thought, believe me. And for you to not realize the severity of that is--”

“You’re wrong. Scorpius would never.” Rose raised her voice, arms crossed. Scorpius swallowed, heart pounding.

“That shows how little you know.” Ron shook his head. “He would do it without hesitation and laugh about it.”

“He’s not his father, Daddy.” Rose felt her voice start to plead. “And if you would just try to get to know him instead of trying to heal your bruised ego, you would know.”

“I can forgive you for many fucking things.” Ron scoffed, raising his hands.“I don’t know if I can forgive you for this.”

“Fine.” Rose felt her throat close up but she powered through. “Don’t forgive me for this.”

They said nothing for a minute before Ron cursed and stalked away.

Rose looked at her mother, apologizing with her eyes. Hermione stood up and cleared her throat and excused herself to find Ron.

“What a good morning.” Rose’s Uncle George tried to combat the awkwardness. “I think I’m gonna leave this tension and enjoy the outdoors. Ang, care to join?”

Rose pushed past Scorpius. He went to follow her, but Hugo showed up in his line of vision, advising him against that. Rose raced to the kitchen into the arms of Parvani, tears suddenly streaming down her face.

Rose’s brother had ushered him into a room for his own safety from both Rose and Ron, whose tempers were flaring. He couldn’t believe the morning he was having--and he still had the Weasley Gathering God, oh god, where Morgan was going to be. Scorpius hadn't left the room since Hugo and Albus came in, they all freaked out for 12 whole minutes, and Fiona burst in with a group of the cousins.

There was a special section of hell for people like him. Shit, shit, shit.

“Get out, get out, we need to talk!” Hugo suddenly snapped out of it. “Fiona, you too. James, Fred, get in here.”

“This is big.” Albus said to Scorpius, pulling on his dress robes.

“Rose and her dad never fight like that.” James said, shaking his head “Ever.”

“Rose has never ever even said no to him before, I’m pretty sure. Here, put on your dress robes. Great Grannie Tessie always comes early.” Fred surmised.

Hugo shook his head. “Scorpius. You know I don’t care what you and my sister do, alright. But she’s putting family on the line here. For you. And I need you to know that. Because this isn’t something to take lightly--she’s talking about marrying you. My sister. My sister doesn’t play around with this kind of shit, so if you want to run, I am giving you a chance right now.”

Scorpius started to pull on his dress robes.

There was a special place in hell for people like him.

But she didn't leave him then, and he wasn't going to leave her now, he just decided.

+

In all her 25 years of being a Weasley, Rose has never seen this many people crowding the Burrow. Sure, hair and skin color varied throughout the years, since the inclusion of her Uncle Harry, Aunt Fleur, and her Aunt Angelina, but she thinks that this year was definitely the biggest and the ginger-iest.

"Scorpius Malfoy, where have you been, I've been here all alone and I was just about to ask your friend Jason to dance." Rose said, way before Scorpius even thought of what to say to her. She didn't even turn around. It was scary. He grinned, and took her hand, twirling her. Rose rolled her eyes but allowed herself to be pressed against him, looking up at him considerably.

"You would never. You don't need publicity like that. Babicz dances like a troll." Scorpius said. "I see you haven't been swallowed by cousins like Al and Parvani."

It was scary, she hadn't seen Parvani all night. Also, in the distance, she saw a gaggle of cousins screaming "Roxie! Roxie! Roxie!", demanding to know about her 5th year Cotillion at Hogwarts. She could only imagine Rox's annoyance. She thought she saw a little black hair bobbing in a sea of gingers. Poor Rox.

"Well, Hogwarts Cotillions and real life pregnancies top boyfriends. But don't worry, after those two pop soon and the wedding planning gets intense, we'll have heaps of phone calls and Floo-calls and owls-"

"...and don't you forget darling, the gifts and the money and the honeymoon with you and me and a hotel room-" Scorpius whispered teasingly into her ear and Rose allowed a small, sad kind of smile. He could that that what happened with her dad still made her very upset. He had to distract her. "Care to dance, Rose?"

"I would love to." Rose said, wrapping her arms around his neck. Scorpius smiled at her and she smiled back.

Before they could start dancing, they were almost completely oblivious that Morgan Zabini had reached the place where they were just standing.

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you Rose Weasley?" Morgan asked as Rose loosened her grip around Scorpius's neck. This did not go unnoticed.

Rose unwrapped her arms from Scorpius's neck and before she could cross her arms, he pulled on them and gripped her hand. His fingers played with hers. Rose knew this was a nervous habit of his so she interlaced their hands firmly, calming him down.

"Yes, and you are...?" Rose said curtly. Scorpius swallowed, looking anywhere but at Morgan.

"I just found out that my friend Scorp here is back in town... I just had to come by and give him a present for his mom’s birthday. But the bad news is that I'm going to be the one out of own for the next year, in Paris like his ex-wife, remember Scorp?"

Rose looked at him shocked. "Fiance. I told you about Haley." he said hardly. Rose squeezed his hand just as hard, and he winced.

“And I just wanted you to have this card for your Mum, as a sorry I can’t come to your birthday party gift.." she picked an envelope from her purse, and handed it to Scorpius. He didn't reach for it, and Morgan pivoted and handed it to Rose. "...and this box for Rose."

She picked up a small box from her purse, and also handed it to Rose.

Scorpius looked down at Rose's hand, the one he was holding for dear life.

Morgan looked Rose in the eye. "I hope you like them, you two." And then, in the ensuing silence.

Rose saw a flash in her eyes. She saw terror. She saw fear. She saw pain.

And she was worried about what was in that box.

Rose's eyebrows furrowed as Morgan retreated. Scorpius buried his head in her neck, mumbling about something or the other and apologizing for her. But Rose was more interested in Morgan's unsteady gait as she walked away. The wavering smile the girl had on her face suddenly seemed more and more wavering. Rose pulled Scorpius out of the crook of her neck and calmed him down, before opening her mouth to ask him a favor.

"Scorp... can you please... check on her? Something didn't look right with her... just make sure she like... doesn't Apparate drunk or whatever. I'll go put the gifts in my room, please? Please, Scorp?" Rose pleaded, pouting slightly. Without giving him room to object, she swiftly kissed his lips and departed quickly upstairs.

Briefly, Scorpius considered not doing it. But he sighed anyway, bucked up and followed the path where he heard Morgan's unsure clicks down the walkway. She was only a few feet ahead of him soon, moving slowly.

"Morgan!" he called and she stopped, not turning around. Somewhere, deep on the outskirts of wizard London in an underground mob house, Haley cursed her luck while the three other onlookers in the room praised the suspense they were now witnessing in hushed tones. The potion was wearing off.

Scorpius caught up to her and turned her around. A deer-caught-in-headlights look was etched on Morgan's face. Scorpius's own face muscles softened at this and he let his hand draw itself to her forehead to check her temperature, familiarly.

"Hey? ... Mo, it's just me... what's gotten into you?" Scorpius whispered, and Morgan looked down immediately, but Scorpius could already see the unsure and unsteady eyes she made at his term of endearment for her. A thought sprang in his head and he swallowed, hoping to force it down.

No.

"Say... Mo... how about I make sure you get home safe? Tell me, what's your new address? Isn't it by where Beth's grave is? Aren’t you moving to Scotland soon?"

Morgan's mouth hung open and strangled noises moved through her lips, so she settled for a nod and looked down. Scorpius nodded along with her, feigning worry. His suspicions, although it seems like he was jumping to conclusions were confirmed. He gripped his wand, much like Rose does.

Morgan's eyes steadied themselves on his wand hand.

"You forgot your address Mo? You know what else you forgot?" his voice was quiet, yet dangerous. "You aren’t moving to Scotland."

Morgan cursed, tried grabbing her wand but Scorpius quickly disarmed her without even thinking about it. She fell back and hit her head, eyes fluttering shut.


	16. Chapter 16

Scorpius turned his head towards the party, where all sorts of screams of laughter were happening. If Zach could send someone to Polyjuice or mind control Morgan... who else could he have possibly sent. He was startled when he saw Jason in the shadows.

“Babicz, jeez. You scared me.”

“Look at her legs, Scorpius.” Babicz tutted. “They’re turning purple. She’s been magicked.”

“Help me out, will you? Is she gonna die?” Babicz gave him a look as his shaky hands checked the unconscious Morgan for permanent damage.

"Christ, Scorp, what you blast her with?" The man's shaky hands left the girl as Scorpius kept his head poised towards the backyard. Scorpius blinked back towards Babicz, who had already began to shoulder Morgan's body on his back, waiting for his answer. Scorpius shrugged.

"Nothing! I disarmed her and then I stunned her, she fell backwards and got hit with a soccer ball that one of the kids kicked pass the Age Line and couldn't get."

"Oh, that's reassuring. I thought it was a rock or something. I’m not good with skull trauma" Babicz’s laugh turned into a wheeze and Scorpius smiled at his old partner. “Well, she can’t go to St. Mungo’s.”

“I know, Healer school dropout. She hit her head. And the potion they used is something you tried to develop a while ago, I think, a cross between Imperio and Polyjuice... it's mind control or something. Do you think you could help?"

Babicz sighed. “For you? I can only try.”

When he got out, Jason Babicz was the first person he called. Jason had been working his temp job for Gringotts for a few weeks and recommended him to the goblins, and he was accepted under shady terms but good as ever. Babicz was probably the only person who knew him from his Paris days and he was so grateful for him.

“Jason,” Scorpius said. “You don’t know how much I appreciate you.”

“Don’t get all sappy on me, Malfoy.” Babicz shrugged off the sincerity with which Scorpius said his first name. “But...the feeling is mutual. I’ll give you a Floo-Call once I’m done healing her. Stay safe.”

“No but seriously, Babicz” Scorpius watched him magick Morgan upright, resting her against the curb. “Thank you for coming.”

“Hey, it’s not like I had a choice. I had to actually see the Scorose action up close.” Babicz joked. “And you didn’t disappoint. If you asked me, I’d say you really liked that girl.”

“No but seriously, Babicz” Scorpius watched him magick Morgan upright, resting her against the curb. “I think...I think I’m falling for her. Inexplicably fast. You’re the only one who’s ever seen me in love before so I...I don’t know. It’s dumb.”

“Oh yeah?” Babicz said, a smile on his face. “How so?”

“She just... drives me batshit. I can’t stop thinking about her. Everything I do, I think of how it will affect her, affect us. Even if she’s not the first thought, she’s my last. And she could talk to me about anything for hours, and I’d get bored but I could watch her speak for as long as I could. And she is the most intelligent woman in the whole entire world, I could just watch her mind work for hours.” Scorpius shook his head. “I can’t get her off my mind.”

“So...what are you doing out here talking to me for?” Babicz smiled and shoved him. “Get out of here.”

* * *

 Rose scurried up the stairs quickly, avoiding any press she thought could be hiding in the bushes, any frenzied cousins, or anyone in between. She had to open that box, just to see what it was. Rose crashed into Scorpius's empty room and hissed at the way the door jabbed her hip.

She lay the wrapping paper on the bed, and carefully teared apart the box until she got to the root of it, and with a gasp she pulled out and revealed the most peculiar gift she would think someone like Morgan would give her...

A ring. A man’s ring. Why would she give the woman marrying her first love jewelry? And beautiful, exquisite jewelry at that? What was going on? She had no idea really. Must be a pureblood custom or something. Rose was just glad that it wasn't a time bomb or a ransom note or someone's discarded ear. Rose almost placed the lovely ring in the remains of the box and put the it on Scorpius's nightstand before she saw the note on the bottom of the box.

Rose pulled out her wand and pointed at the note, unsure if it was cursed and wanting to be as cautious as possible.

" _Acroasus_." she whispered and the paper unraveled itself, as it started to read the words for her.

“Dear Rose,  
Scorpius gave me this ring when we were engaged. It’s the Malfoy Family Ring, passed down from generation to generation of Malfoy brides. Malfoy custom is the wife gets to wear this ring around her neck. He gave it to me when we first got engaged all those years ago and I guess we both forgot about it. I only see it right to give this back. Scorpius told me about your plan. I hope you don’t mind. Don’t be mad at him.

I’m doing this behind Zach’s back because there was a time where I loved that man more than anything. And even when he needed it the most, he took care of me through everything--and I mean everything: the modeling, the drugs, the dealing, the money, me. And all I can do to return the favor is make sure Zach doesn’t blow his top too much and give you this. And ask that you take care of him in return. Whether you love him or hate him, take care of him.

For when the time comes,  
\--Haley Zabini”

The paper rolled itself back up and flew back into the box. Rose inspected the ring. It was golden but browning. It gave her chills. It was definitely old and beaten up. The phrase engraved on it was fairly new though, the phrase “Nunc scio quid sit amor”. Which she knew translated to “Now I know what love is” from Latin.

Here she was, holding the very inclination that she was to be a Malfoy wife in the palm of her hand.

Wasn’t life odd?

Lights were off as she descended the steps. She turned them on and screamed. Lo and behold, on the counter... a crying Lily Scamander, drowning herself in peanut butter ice cream she bought just two days ago at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Lily looked up immediately, wiping her face of the make-up she hadn't bothered to take off yet. Rose and Lily didn't say anything. Rose walked over, Lily offered a spot and a spoon and Rose dug in.

"Why were you crying Lils?" Rose whispered, quietly, so quiet that it was hard for even her to register her words. Lily heard them though and she gulped, sighing unsteadily.

"Lys and I had a fight. I called him something stupid because he couldn't bring the kids tonight, like he said he would. I accused him of... of... cheating. I think he is Rose. He comes home late, he won't talk to me anymore... he's ignoring me, and the kids feel it too, it's this weird feeling in my gut but I know he's not 100% in it anymore." Lily sniffled. "He accused me of not having faith in him, and I said that I don't because you haven't given me a reason to and then we started yelling, and he said he might not even come, and I told him to bloody fuck off, and he said... gladly. And he hung up on me."

Rose played these words in her head... gentle, always gentle, Lysander? Upset? With his picture perfect wife and family? How could this be?

Lily looked at her, sniffling. "I envy you, Rose. I really do. You and Scorpius... I don't know how to explain it... you and Scorpius, when you're not looking, and he looks at you, and I see how he feels about you, plainly written on his face, for the world to see. I don't think Lysander ever looked at me like that."

Rose looked down, she longed to tell the full story, to tell Lily everything. But Lily... not to Lily, she would never handle it secretly or maturely. So Rose shrugged, and tried to finally improvise something... anything in reply... how could she... he didn't... could never look at her like that.

“Well…not for nothing but from one Scamander ex to an ex Potter herself, I think we Weasley-Potter-Delacour-Lupin-Whatever women are just skeptical to begin with. I used to not trust Scorpius at all. Sometimes I still don’t. I think...I think trust is just knowing that this person cares about you and your quality of life. Lys is crazy about you and the twins and you probably have nothing to worry about. Trust me.” Rose said, rubbing Lily’s back comfortingly.

"I trust you. You’re probably right...but hey, how are you, Rose?" Lily finally asked, curiously, as Rose garbled a sort of response.

Rose swallowed. "Scared, I guess. Dad’s just getting to me. And it sucks right because Scorpius genuinely makes me happy--and that’s what should be important."

“What was he doing at Worthington’s, Rose?” Lily whispered. “You can be honest. Were you two...ring shopping?”

Rose hesitated but decided that this wouldn’t be that much of a breach of contract. “Yes.”

Lily squealed. “Really?”

“Yes, Lily.”

“Are you pregnant?” Lily whispered next and Rose rolled her eyes.

“No!” she sighed, exasperated. “Why does everyone think...look, I just...God, I love him okay? I am in love with him. I want to be with him for as long as this world will let me, Lily. He understands me, believes in me, trusts me. And I never thought there would be someone like that in this world.”

Lily rubbed her cousin's arm. "Well if it makes you feel any better...I’m happy for you. We all are. I was talking to Hugo and Fiona about it last night...we’re really glad you have someone. That’s gotta count for something. Hey, I have more ice cream in my room. And to cure your cold feet, I can also get us some hot fudge."

“Actually Lily...I have to see a Malfoy about something, if you don’t mind.”

Lily smiled brightly. “Rain check?”

“Rain check.” Rose reached out to hug Lily. God, she loved her. Even if she was sometimes the most irritating thing. “I promise.”

She watched Lily walked away, waited a second, and pulled the ring from her pocket.

“Rose.” she heard, her mother’s voice trickled from the dark hallway. Rose turned and looked at her, stuffing the ring back in her pocket. She was wearing a violet pantsuit with black dress robes, looking regal in every way. Her face was soft and open as she watched Rose hop down from the kitchen counter and approach her.

“How much of that did you hear?” Rose whispered like a child. Her mother gave a tiny smile and shook her head.

“Almost all of it. I came in around ‘genuinely makes me happy’.” Hermione whispered, reaching for her daughter’s hand.

“I think I love him, Mum.” Rose rolled her eyes. “God, this sucks.”

“Love doesn’t suck, Rose.” her mother sighed. “This is good news.”

“It sucks because you and Dad hate him.” Rose whined. “He would rather me alone and unhappy than happy with Scorpius. And I know this is hard for you too. Except you have too much pride to show it. It’s okay, Mum, it’s just--”

“That boy,” Hermione said sharply. “He isn’t his father. The same way that James and Albus are not Harry, Lily isn’t Ginny, Hugo is not your father or you are me.” Rose fell silent, watching her mother speak. “And I know that you want to put us before yourself but that’s not what’s going to work here. If you, my daughter, see the good in this man...then I will too because convincing us must be a piece of cake compared to convincing you. You ma’am, are a tough critic. Your father will get over it. I will get over it. I just want you to be as happy as you can be.”

Rose pulled her mother into a hug, wheels turning in her head. She had to do this quick before she lost the nerve.

“I love you, Mum, remember that.” Rose sniffed. “Excuse me a minute,”

"So many gingers, so little time!" Her Aunt Luna and Lily's middle namesake, stage-whispered happily in her musical voice, draped over the shoulder of her Uncle Neville, and it was only about an hour and a half into the event. She seemed to be the one designated to take Vani and Rox's drinks for the night. Her Uncle Neville couldn't stop her, but he was definitely doing his best.

Rose passed her aunt in the garden outside of the white tent, giving her uncle a supporting nod for good luck and he gave her a 'thanks-i’m-gonna-need-it' look. Crookshanks II, the old cat, purred at Rose, hiding next to a bush of wildflowers that Molly spent all week planting, almost blending in. Rose laughed and bent down to pet him.

She was glad to at least have the pregnant cousins to serve as a distraction from the relative newness of her and Scorpius's relationship. She turned and saw her father laughing with her uncles and the rest of his friends in the garden, just outside the tent--the Gryffindor 5 back at it again. They made brief eye contact, neither of them willing to concede. She turned away first when it started to hurt too much, pressing her hand in the pocket of her blue dress was the ring Haley gave her.

Rose heard her mom’s laughter behind her.

Scorpius joined the party again after Babicz brought Morgan back to his home to start working on healing her. It was quieter now. He saw Rose re-entering from the other side of the backyard and smiled at her, waving her over .Rose looked back at him before walking towards the balcony where the Welcomes were happening.

He remembered her telling him about this. The time between the floating instruments and the live band portion of the party there was the Welcomes. The “Weasley Welcome” time was where relatives addressed the family and talked about how happy they were to be there. It ranged from the funny to the serious to the self-promotional--like when Dom was up there promoting her fashion line for 10 minutes last year. When she entered the tent, one of her most distant cousins walked up had just finished giving a teary spiel about how lucky she was to be a Weasley,

Scorpius blinked as Rose got on stage and grabbed the floating microphone.

“Hello everyone,” Rose said sweetly. Everyone in the tent at least was drunk enough at this point to not worry about the interruption earlier. Except Scorpius. And Ron.

“I’m Rose Weasley, just in case I haven’t made my rounds to all my cousins yet. And I just...I want to make this quick but, I’m sure those of you with a WizTV know that I am dating Scorpius Malfoy. And I have been for a couple of months.”

There were mixed reactions from the crowd. People aww-ing, cheering, booing, rolling their eyes. Scorpius blushed as Albus came to pat him on the back. Rose looked for her parents. She found her mother looking at her quizzically but she had no eye on her father, who was probably still in the garden.

“He’s one of the most frustrating men I have ever met, I mean seriously. He pushes my limits. Tests my patience. Breaks down my walls. But we move past it every time because I've always known, since meeting him again at Albus’s wedding party like a year ago, that we had the potential to be together. I always tell him that he is "mine" and I don't mean that in a weird sadistic way...well, not all of it.” Rose paused to let her family laugh, before taking a step off of the stage and walking towards him. “But what I’m trying to say is...Scorpius, I’m not going to say that I can’t imagine what my life without you. I can. I just don’t want to. I fell for you and I didn’t even realize it happened, it just did. But being with you now, I wouldn’t change a thing. And I just have a question I want to ask him.”

She stopped in front of him and...oh, he didn’t like the mischievous glint in her eye. No way. No bloody way. She wouldn’t dare.

“Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy…” Rose held a ring out in front of him and got on one knee.

Oh, she would.

“Would you marry me?”

She was good.

Everyone gasped around them. Scorpius looked into her eyes to see if she was serious. There was still that smug gleam in her eye--challenging him. He grinned at how typical Rose this was--always surprising him. But this was new. He couldn’t believe the impulse of it all--well, he knew they were supposed to get married but the actual engagement process he thought she’d leave to him.

But this. This was better than whatever they could have imagined. And while she did value following the plan, he also knew that she valued integrity and quality. He didn’t say anything, just got down on his knee to be eye level with her. Grabbing her chin, he brought her face to his and kissed her with everything he had to give.

The cheers around them were deafening but that didn’t matter. All he could focus on was his Rose.

* * *

 

The Burrow had seriously thinned out--it was around midnight. Everyone pretty much had retired to their rooms except for a few games of Wizard Poker still going on in the tents. In the center of the virtually empty garden was Rose and Scorpius, in their own world.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” he shook his head as they passed where Ron Weasley had stood when he heard the announcement Rose had made. One of the wildflower bushes was smoking because Ron had hit it with an Unforgivable before Uncle Harry took him to an undisclosed location for the night to cool down. Rose led him to a table and sat him down, before climbing into his lap, holding a cool cup of Fishy Green Ale. His arm was firmly around her waist, as Rose played with the hair on the nape of his neck. She smiled at him.

“Eh, sue me.” Rose shrugged. "We'll worry about it in the morning."


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Rose strolled into Scorpius's room quickly, opening the door and locking it. She laughed at Dominique and Molly’s attempts at opening it.

“Hello, sunshine.” Scorpius smiled at her. “I was just packing. What happened with them?”

“They want to gossip about last night.” Rose rolled her eyes. “Just ignore them.”

“What did happen last night?” Scorpius asked her jokingly.

Rose rolled her eyes affectionately. “I proposed to you and then we had sex in my grandmother’s garden.”

“Oh yeah, right.” Scorpius grinned.

Rose sighed as she felt Dominique and Molly run away. “ I’m sad we have to leave. I was starting to really enjoy rubbing how happy we are in my Dad’s face.”

“If you loved this, you’re gonna adore Mom’s birthday party.” Scorpius grumbled. Rose giggled. “Grandfather is gonna disown me.”

“God--I mean Haley--literally handed me this on a silver platter. Plus, the look on my mom’s face was worth it.The look on yours was too.”

“Yeah. because it’s very unlike you to not go according to plan.” Scorpius teased.

“The opportunity was right there, Scorpius.” Rose shook her head. “I couldn’t overthink it. Plus, I knew you wouldn’t mind. Also, this is actually easier for my dad. The sooner we finish the plan, the less agony he’s in and less likely he’s going to get sent to Azkaban for murdering me.”

“Or murdering me.”

“Dad isn’t talking to me.” Rose chuckled. “Uncle Harry just left and we all just said goodbye to him. Dad could barely look at me.”

“You did drop the marriage bomb on them.” Scorpius said, casting a spell to make the bed. Rose rolled her eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“For their own good. I was just trying to soften the blow for later.” Rose shrugged, lying back on the just made bed. Scorpius sighed, wondering who really was the annoying one sometime.

“Speaking of blowing later,” Scorpius joked. “I like Spontaneous Rose.” Scorpius placed a hand on her thigh, settling next to her. “Even when she’s trying to get us killed, she’s smart about it. And sexy.”

“Mmm,” Rose hummed as she placed her legs on his lap. Scorpius placed a kiss on her hand.

“How long do you think Spontaneous Rose is going to stick around?” Scorpius whispered suggestively. In fact, when he leaned down to place a kiss at the base of her neck, he knew he was just teasing her now. But that was okay because 2 could play at that game.

“Well, she’s been around for about 24 hours now.” Rose whispered in his ear. She took the expanse of skin between her teeth for a second, so quickly Scorpius prayed he imagined it because she better not be teasing him right now. “It depends.”

“Depends on what?” he breathed.

“What you’re offering.” she said sweetly, her leg hitching up around his waist.

“Rose, don’t tease me.” Scorpius said before she could repeat herself. Rose tilted her head, playing dumb. “I’m warning you.”

“It’s not my fault getting engaged turns you on.” Rose smiled, running a hand down his chest. Scorpius chuckled.

“Alright, that’s it.” Scorpius mumbled, breathing heavy. The hand not on her waist fell to back to her thigh, inching dangerously close. Rose’s skin felt like she was on fire. Her nose brushed him, almost ready to kiss him when he pulled back for a second.

“Rose?”

“Scorpius?”

“What’s going to happen to the Hatesex Treaty when we go home?”

“Oh come on, Scorpius.” Rose groaned.

“I know, but I’m curious.” Scorpius shrugged. “Is this friends with benefits or…”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Rose shook her head. “We don’t have to label it.”

“Rose. Come on, humor me here. I need to know.” Scorpius said, growing frustrated.

“Scorp, if we define this as sex in a friends with benefits way, we’re basically in a relationship where we intend to get married. We had a deal that that’s not how this was happening.” Rose sighed, also growing frustrated. “So let’s just say we have sex sometimes when we need to and call it a day. Why can’t we do that?”

Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Rose. What you said the day we met about me not being used to one night stands was true. I’m not. I get horny and attached.”

“So when you’re horny, we’ll have sex.” Rose shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t like sex with you.”

“Trust me, I know that’s not the problem.”

“Cocky bastard.”

“ It’s just that, if we go by that logic, you’d have to get an Apparition license or live at my house or a lifetime supply of Floo powder.”

“I practically do anyway.” Rose shrugged.

“Oh come on! This is definitely friends with benefits, Rose!”

“No! Hey, no, no...you tricked me. We’re nothing, we are partners.”

“Just as I suspected.” Scorpius shook his head, removing himself from their embrace. Rose suddenly felt cold. “We can’t have sex again.”

Rose laughed. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” Scorpius shook his head. “I already told you, sex is different for me. I get way too deep into it. Sex is intimacy. Intimacy means actual relationship. And actual relationship means hurt and drama and everything that we are morally against. We promised we wouldn’t do that. I won’t let us lose sight of our goal.”

“Oh my god, you’re not kidding.” Rose’s eyes bulged. She sat up and stood next to him, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Are you sick? Are you mad? This is sex we’re talking about.”

“No, Rose, I know.” He grabbed her hand off of his forehead and curled it into his. “This is serious to me. I can’t shut my emotions on and off. I’m an all or nothing type of person, Rose. I can get clingy and possessive, I brood too much and I get too deep--you can just ask my mom and dad, that’s just the way I’ve always been.”

“Scorpius. Please.”

“I refuse to let my dick mess this up for us.” Scorpius shrugged. “No matter how much I want you or how good you look when your...nevermind. Point is, without a label, the Hatesex Treaty stands unless at the Malfoy Manor or the Weasley Burrow. No recreational sex..

“Your mom’s birthday is in 3 weeks. I just started having sex again and you’re cutting me off for a month?” Rose pouted, ripping her hand away from his hand and sitting back on the bed defiantly. Scorpius sighed and pointed his wand at his suitcase and zipped it up.

“No, Rose. That’s it. It stands.” Scorpius gave her a stern look as she bit her lip and the dynamic in the room changed. “You were right about me all along...I don’t do one-night-stands or emotionless sex. I’m not strong like you. We’re not doing it. Period.”

“Scorpius...you sound like me.”

“And you sound like me. But that’s okay. You were right.”

Rose sighed shakily and took him all in.His smirk, his strong hands, the way his tongue darted out slightly when he looked at her, how deep his voice was when he was telling her that she was right--oh he was playing dirty. He was saying all the right things: taking charge, making logical sense, making sure they stay on their goals. And he knew that the only thing she loved more when she was right, was when he tells her that she’s right. God, she wanted him.

Rose leaned up off the bed and looked at Scorpius with hooded eyes. “You know, I love when you take charge with this whole thing. It makes me feel like I rubbed off on you.”

“Rose. Please.”

“Do you want me to?”

Now, she was playing dirty. He took her all in, the way she looked at him with her eyes all hooded and dark. Her voice was dripping with sex and it wasn’t fair how she could exude sex appeal at her own will. Or maybe he was just really horny right now. Or maybe it was both.

“What?”

“Rub off on you.”

Wordplay that doubled as dirty talk. God, she was an idiot. God, did he want her.

“You know, technically...we’re still at the Weasley Burrow.” ‘

“Rose, honey, we leave in like 15 minutes.” Scorpius said, trying to avoid her hypnotic glare. She was not going to seduce him out of this battle. “I have work soon. I don’t think there’s time for a quickie and--”

Rose had stood up the moment he started talking, allowing distance to lessen and lessen between them. By the time he’d started his last sentence, Rose had her fingers on his belt buckle, brushing up and down the clothed and rapidly appearing bulge. Scorpius sighed as her grip became stronger.

“Who said anything about a quickie?” Rose whispered in his ear and he was speechless. Her lips travelled down from his neck to his collarbone before Rose surprised him and sunk to her knees with hands ghosting over where they needed to be.God, she was gorgeous. “I just want to show you what you’re missing.”

She ran a hand over him and he felt a twitch, which motivated her to unbutton his pants and slide them down. Pressing a kiss to his clothed member, Scorpius felt his eyes roll as she pulled him from his underwear.

“Unless...unless I’m wrong. And you won’t miss me?” Rose said, eyes peering up at him as she weakened her grip. “And you’re refusing to have sex with me because you just don’t want me or something like that? What was that thing on how I should stop kidding myself?”

He didn’t answer her. They both knew she had a point.

“And how I should trust you? Hm?” she said as she licked her way from the bottom to the tip and he swore he was going to lose it. “Well, I trust you.”

“Jesus, Rose...goddammit--you’re using my words and your mouth against me.”

“Just tell me to stop.” Rose murmured, giving him a way out. And he wanted to say stop. Scratch that, he wanted to want to say stop but it was no use. He felt himself being pulled down into this whirlpool, hopelessly falling into the brown of her eyes and the swell of her lips and the smell of her hair and the way her delicate fingers wrapped around him, applying the right amount of pressure...they’d crossed a line within him that she could never know about. He was falling for her and he was tumbling fast. And maybe that was selfish to withhold this information from her, but what was he supposed to do? He was hers. All hers.

“No. Rose, no. Okay--fuck, shit--maybe we can work something out.”

Rose took him into his mouth and he saw stars. Gathering up her hair, Scorpius shuttered as he tried to think.

“No hickeys.”

Rose whined around him, indicating that she wasn’t going to agree to that.

“Fuck.” Scorpius panted, as she continued to stroke. “How about...we can have sex...just no kissing. No unnecessary foreplay after necessary wetness. No teasing. Straight to business.”

Rose didn’t answer, but her mouth responded positively so he took that as a yes and tossed his head back.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius stood in front of the Floo with the remaining members of the family and smiled at them, ignoring the way that everyone noticed how both of their hair and clothes were in disarray or how Rose’s dad wasn’t there. Rose gave her mother a long hug goodbye while Scorpius stood around awkwardly.

A second later, he felt a pat on his back--its Hugo.

“We think Jeremy wanted us to give you this.” Hugo said, handing him a piece of paper. Scorpius smiled slightly and opened it.”He’s not much of an artist alright, so we couldn’t really figure out who he was trying to draw at first. He’s 2, so give him his credit.”

Inside was a badly drawn cartoon of a blond stick-like figure holding hands with a red haired stick figure looking particularly angry. But the boy had used enchanted crayons, so the stick figures began to move towards each other and smile.

Scorpius had never felt more guilt.

“Well, thank you, Jeremy.” Scorpius said, voice thick. “And you, Hugo. I love it. And I know Rose will too. I’m gonna hang it in my house. Right next to my fireplace.”

“I’ll tell the artist you give him your regards.” Hugo grinned. “And since you’re family now, I won’t even let him charge you.”

Fiona approached Hugo and hit him in the chest. “Oi, I wanted to save that one. That could have been a wedding gift.”

“I love when you talk so fiscally responsible.” Hugo grabbed her by the waist and lifted her, which brought her to laugh.

“Hey Hugo,” Rose smiled brightly. “Save some love for me.”

“That goes for you too, Scorpius.” Rose’s mother smiled. And he tried. He tried not to imagine how she must feel and how he was punishing her--for nothing. But she embraced him quickly, not giving him much time to think.

“Take care of my girl.” she said plainly. “She needs you more than you know.”

And that was that.

Nothing more, nothing less. He and Rose departed soon after, waving to everyone left. They’d Floo’d to his apartment first, then she quickly left for hers in order to get ready for work on time. And Scorpius placed his suitcase down, and the first thing he did was place Jeremy’s drawing on the mantle.


	18. Chapter 18

******_(September 2030- 1 month later)_ **

“I haven’t seen Scorpius around in a while.” Molly said suddenly at dinner one night. It was her, Mira, Lucy, Kimberly, and Dom. Kimberly was cooking her famous beef casserole and French onion soup for them while Lucy baked them white chocolate coconut cookies. Dom had bought some nettle wine, chocolate liqueur and gin. They were all set to gossip. Usually the other girls were here, but Vic was too busy comforting Lily after another screaming match with Lysander. Roxanne went back to Hogwarts last week and Parvani was too busy at the Patil house for dinner.

“Where is Rose tonight?” Dom said, downing some nettle wine.

“She’s helping Hugo shop for Jeremy’s first birthday.” Mira answered. “Albus and Scorpius are working late today.”

“I can’t believe that Rose is engaged to a Malfoy still.” Lucy sighed. “And that Uncle Ron still refuses to talk to her. He was by dad’s house the other day and Aunt Mione and Mum tried to convince him to change his mind.”

“When _our dad_ is the one telling you to get over it...” Molly shook her head.

“That’s when you know.” Dom snorted. They tittered as Dom poured Kimberly a cup of chocolate liqueur. “At least they’re fine.”

“I don’t know.” Molly speculated. “I mean, haven’t seen him in weeks. She stomps around the house like she’s not orgasming on the regular."

“Well, maybe that was just honeymoon phase. And this is just real life.” Kimberly offered, offering a taste of the soup to Dom and Lucy. “I’m not worried about them. I’m more worried about Lily and Lysander.”

“They’ve been _fighting_ constantly.” Dom shook her head. “Me and James went clubbing last night and he told me all about it. Lysander has all but given up. Lily thinks he’s cheating. Aunt Luna took the babies for the week last week because they’ve been fighting so much that Lola started making her dolls throw dishes when Aunt Luna was babysitting.”

“With his dad dead and his brother gone all the time and his mother being all alone in that big house and being such a young father and husband, even I could tell he’s been stressed.” Mira shook her head. “When my dad died, it was like this unbreakable funk. Lily doesn’t understand”

“How could she?” Molly sighed. “Her dad is the Boy Who Lived. Immortal even in death. I don’t know if they’re gonna make it.”

“Have you spoken to Louis, recently?”

“Not a lick. Not since he left for Hogwarts, and even then he was just holed up in his room.” Dom rolled her eyes. “And not for lack of trying. If he didn’t post on Twitter, I wouldn’t know if he was still breathing...”

* * *

 

Rose breathed into Scorpius’s mouth, trying not to catch his lips. He pulled away abruptly, dragging a cigarette from his fingers and blowing the smoke in her mouth. She rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly (he’d been learning the difference) and sat up on the edge of his bed.

“Right back where we started.” she whispered, laughing a bit in her afterglow. “Happy 10 months.Your sheets still smell.” Scorpius gave her a tiny grin, not saying anything as he pressed his chest on her back.

“When do we leave for Wiltshire again?” he asked her, nuzzling her neck gently.

“We leave Thursday, come back Sunday.” Rose muttered, trying to remember. Scorpius nodded, made an agreeable noise against her skin before falling quiet to the comfort of it all. It was silent for some time, with Scorpius holding Rose. She wanted, more than anything, to kiss him. But he was serious about that rule, which she admired.

“Is your dad going to hate me?” Rose asked suddenly. Scorpius turned to look at her and her facial expression was unreadable.

“No.” Scorpius said. “I won’t let him.”

“I don’t have a good track record with dads, already.” Rose shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”

“You know what. That’s right, I forgot--we might as well give up now.” Scorpius said and Rose elbowed him while he laughed.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m serious.” Rose looked over at him. “If you look I am nothing like your traditional Malfoy wife. I’m all halfblooded and bushy haired and my thighs touch and I’m terrible at anything to do with the Dark Arts and your dad supported my mums opponent in the last election and--”

“Rose.” Scorpius interjected quickly. “Who gives a fuck about blood status and elections and your hair or if your thighs touch? I don’t. My mom doesn’t. My dad doesn’t. The only people who do is Granddad and maybe my Grandmum. And they’re so old and set in their ways that it doesn’t even matter. My dad...he’s different, Rose.” Scorpius whispered. “When...when people used to start telling me stories about my dad, I thought they were lying. But he sat me down the day I got my Hogwarts letter and told me that he knew what people were saying. And he didn’t want me to learn from a textbook about who he used to be. And he just told me everything and that he was sorry that I had to carry the weight of this name on my shoulders. I remember it so well. There’s no way a man like that would take in account the bushiness of your hair about whether or not you should be my wife.”

Rose didn’t say anything, so he continued.

“And my mom...she’s everything to me. She understands me, more than I understand anything myself. She…” Scorpius hesitated. “She’s not like that, Rose.”

“I believe you.” Rose said after a second. “And now would be a perfect time to kiss you...but…”

“No, Rose.”

“Just checking.” Rose rolled out of the bed. “Albus, James and I are going over to Hugo’s, gotta talk to him about this Lily thing. You know she’s moved in with them.”

“I didn’t,” Scorpius said, watching her pull her clothes back on.

She waved her hand, dismissing it. “We’re just gonna go see what’s up. Maybe eat dinner with them all. Try to convince her to work it out or end it. We’ll see. She wants to keep everything out of the press--for the girls sake.”

“That’s understandable.” Scorpius shrugged. “But impossible. They watch our every move. Rose, you hadn’t even proposed to me before it was front page news all over the world.” Rose shuddered, trying to forget how much of a media circus that still was.

“Imagine the last remaining Mr. and Mrs. Scamander breaking up, especially after their fairytale wedding special and Lysander’s dad dying?” Scorpius continued. “They would eat that shit up. And where even are the twins?”

“Apparently, according to Lily, they’re with Grandma Luna.” Rose sighed. “It’s a wonder the press hasn’t found out, yet.”

“I’ll let you know if me and Babicz get any stares at work tomorrow.” Scorpius joked.

“Speaking of Babicz, you should talk to him more. I mean what are you going to do when I’m gone--who do you hang out with?"

"The fish."

Rose put her hands on her hips. “Seriously, what do you do when you’re not at work or with me?”

“Wait for you to come back.” Scorpius gave her a fake pout.  

“I’m serious.” Rose grabbed her phone, Floo powder, and wand from the dresser.

“Sleep.” Scorpius truthfully.

“See, this makes no sense. You spend almost every waking minute with me and you won’t let snog me--find someone to hang out with or let me kiss you.” Rose crossed her arms.

“Alright. I’ll hang out with Babicz while you’re out.” Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Now leave, your afterglow is giving me second thoughts about letting you go so soon.”

* * *

 Jason Babicz’s house was cluttered in an organized way, which is something Scorpius had always seen as symbolic. But it was never full of surprises. Scorpius entered his fireplace and was greeted with Morgan Zabini on the couch, drinking some tea. He blinked. Now this was a first.

“Babicz!” Scorpius yelled, hand on his wand.

“Hello Scorpius.” Morgan said in a raspy voice.

“Aw shit,” Jason mumbled as he descended the steps. “You’re early.”

“What the bloody fuck is going on?” Scorpius wondered out loud.

“I’m gonna go upstairs...I have work in an hour.” Morgan stood up when Jason entered the room, crossing over towards him and placing a peck on his cheek. Scorpius’s eyes widened further. Babicz rubbed his neck and looked towards Scorpius.

“I was going to tell you.” Jason whispered. “It was after the Burrow thing. It took days to heal her. We got to talking. And...we had a lot of things in common. And she...we...I…”

“Are you kidding, Babicz?” Scorpius pinched his forehead. “She’s literally a product of the enemy.”

“She was kidnapped, Scorp. And they cursed her. She doesn’t work with Zach or Haley willingly, I gave her a truth potion and everything. She hates him. And you. Kinda. Way less than Zach.” Babicz swore. “I promise she’s safe.”

“She did say something interesting about that envelope she gave you.” Babicz said. “You didn’t open it, right?”

“No, you told me to get rid of it.”

“Good, good. It was a surveillance thing.” Babicz shook his head. “Zach cursed the ink on that paper to copy every single word you say and report it back to headquarters. Where had it been?”

“My sock drawer.” Scorpius shrugged, sitting on his couch. “It probably had good snippets of Rose’s snoring. How fucking conniving. What did he expect to get?”

“Probably some Scorose sex tape to sell to the tabloids.” Babicz joked.

“Yeah? That’d be one way to pay back 300 Galleons.” Scorpius joked.

“Speaking of which, where is Rose? I don’t think I’ve seen you after work in a while for a reason.” Babicz teased. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

“Same to you, hypocrite.” he snorted. “Uh, I think she’s at her brother’s place to talk to Lily. You remember the Potter girl. Yeah, she’s going through it, mate...”

* * *

 “Come on, Jeremy, don’t start crying again.” Fiona threw open the door in the middle of hissing at the baby on her hip that was struggling to grasp the necklace hanging around her neck. Fiona sighed and moved the necklace behind her hair. The baby babbled in protest and started to reach for Fiona’s reading glasses.

“Can we come in?” Albus asked. She nodded, obviously annoyed at the kid that was in her care.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. What is it? As you can see, I’m kind of busy right now.” Fiona said pointedly but in a good-natured way.

“Hi Jer,” Albus tickled the baby’s chin with his finger. Jeremy giggled hysterically and kicked his feet in response. Rose turned to look at James, who shrugged. It was no surprise whatsoever that someone like Albus, the certified good guy and father to be, would be really good with babies.

“It’s about Lily.” James said casually as Jeremy grabbed Albus’s fingers. Fiona made a knowing noise in the back of her throat as her son started to eat Albus’s thumb.  

“Has she been staying with you guys a lot as of late?” Albus asked.

“Yeah.” Fiona sighed as she passed Jeremy off to Albus. “She and Hugo just went out shopping. I told him, I said Hugo, you can’t keep letting her run from these problems. She needs to be forced to make a decision, you know? But that’s his best friend--he can’t ever say no to her and she’s family so it makes sense. It’s just a sad situation.”

“Are they broken up?” Rose shook her head. “I can’t imagine that could be true.”

“I think they are.” Fiona said, giving her a sympathetic frown. “But I’m sure they’ll be back soon, ya know? Mean time, if you keep Jer distracted enough, I can make some dinner and you can see for yourself when she comes back.”

When Lily came back to her brothers and Rose playing Gobstones with Jeremy, she almost couldn’t believe it. Lily sighed, knowing that the jig was up. Hugo greeted them all, grabbing Jeremy and placing a kiss on his cheek before setting him down for his turn at Gobstones. He moved over to Fiona, who was flicking plates from the sink onto the table. Fiona wrapped her arms around Hugo, giving him a tight hug.

Lily dropped the bags on the floor. She looked awful. Her face was red and scratchy. She was wearing baggy clothes, definitely hand-me-downs from Fiona. She had her hair in a ratty ponytail. The moment she saw her big brothers, she crumbled, rushing into James’s arms.

“Oh, if he really is cheating on you, I’ll kill him.” James said the threat with no humor behind it. Because he meant it. And no one in this room felt any different.

* * *

 

When she was 7 and Lily was 5, Rose tried to wish her away. And she’s always thought of that moment of representative of their relationship: Lily all triumphant and mighty watching Rose struggle and get punished for it. And she wasn’t going to lie, she resented Lily for that. She was jealous. She was angry. And confused. But in a way that didn’t make sense, so whenever she saw Lily, she got a headache.She’d gotten Rose in trouble (again) over something minor and small but felt so much bigger, so while she was in time-out, Rose had begged her magic to make Lily disappear, to make her shrink into a billion pieces.

She didn’t think her wish would come true.

Because this Lily? Was not the same Lily she'd known. The Lily who no one could never say no to growing up. The Lily who never shied from the spotlight. Not the Lily who foght and petitioned for Hogwarts to instill their own Winter and Spring Cotillions as part of the 5th year social season. The Lily who never missed a photo op, or the chance to share her story. The Lily who saw Muggle Twitter on vacation one day and transfered it over to the wizarding world. The Lily who invented the Wifi Wand spells. The Lily who fell in love at age 16 and never fell out. Lily, the mother of two twin girls, living the perfect life as a social media baroness.  

Fiona suggested a “just-girls” walk around the block once the boys started to plan military attacks on Lysander’s bollocks, to get Lily’s mind off of things. They brought a tub of ice cream with them, walked up the road and around the block twice, with Lily talking relentlessly. But of course, they let her talk her feelings out.

“...and the way Hugo looks at you, treats you Fiona. And Jeremy. You guys are his everything. And he’s okay with that. That’s what’s important.” Lily theorized, licking her ice cream. “Because I talk to him and he knows that you guys are his world. And he loves it. He loves taking care of you after you do things like get in fights with bartenders or set dinner on fire. He loves you. He loves Jeremy. He’s never been happier just having you in his life, whether as his girlfriend or the mother of his child or whatever you two are doing. And that’s the thing.”

“What’s the thing?” Fiona, who was blushing and trying to keep a smile down--keeping it about Lily. Rose chuckled.

“The thing is...a guy can do everything right--have the right job, the right house, pay your bills, fuck you straight into oblivion, have the most kids with you--but if he’s only doing it because that’s what he thinks he should be doing and that’s not what he actually wants to be doing, that’s when it goes sour. Because over time, you get in the way of happiness. And then you become the obstacle.”

Lily stared ahead as Fiona and Rose exchanged worried looks before deciding to just let her talk it out.

“But, even if he sometimes can’t give you all you want...but he wants to...that’s what it is. That is what’s really important in the long run. That’s what keeps couples together. What you both have. Things that look messy and seem messy but are really the things that everyone is looking for in the end. Perfection is a perception.” Lily mumbled.

“I’d pay to have a man look at me the way Scorpius does to you, Rose. And Hugo to you, Fiona.” Lily chuckled. “Or a woman. Or anybody really. It’s like you walk on water and pure awe. That’s love.”

“But maybe that’s the thing.” Lily said softly “I mean, everybody told me we were too young but I just didn’t believe them. I genuinely didn’t believe them. Couldn’t believe them. Maybe it’s not just him. Maybe I’m doing everything right because that’s what I think I should be doing. Maybe I tricked myself into this. And we never really loved each other. Because...I was never sure.”

Lily hiccuped out a sob, staring blankly in front of her as she dropped her ice cream.

“Oh my god. It really is over.”

Rose and Fiona placed their arms around Lily as they turned the corner.

* * *

 

It was very late that night when Rose came back to him. He heard her Floo and was confused, could have sworn she was spending the night at Molly’s and not with him. He exited his bedroom, watching her hurry up the stairs.

“Rose, what are you--”

She darted into his arms, dropping her wand and her purse to the ground, almost toppling him over. She clung to him, not crying not happy either. Just constant. There.

“I thought you wanted me to get space,” Scorpius laughed as he brought her legs to his waist.

“I was wrong.” she shook her head in his neck. And she was sure.

He placed her feet on the ground after a second, the scent of her overwhelming him. She unwrapped her arms from his neck, but kept her head pressed against his chest. Scorpius placed his head above hers. Whatever reason she had to be here, he was grateful, whatever it was. He’d missed her. All of her.

Suddenly, strong hands darted towards her waist, hands she recognized and she laughed as they pressed themselves all over her, running down her hips to her legs, back up to her chest, and then underneath her chin, leaning her forward to kiss him, impossibly slowly and Rose let out a sigh after the last one he planted on her lips, as he reached out to her jawline, her neck, and her collarbone.

"Not that I don’t appreciate, but bloody hell, what has gotten into you?" Rose partially moaned, quietly. “I thought you said--”

“I was wrong.”

“Scorpius. Don’t tease me. You said--”

“I know what I said and I don’t care.” Scorpius said, borderline growling.

Rose grinned as he claimed her lips as his, bringing her over to his bed. She disconnected the kiss to make something clear.

“You get on top.” Rose muttered.

“What. No, you get on top! I’ve been on top the past like 3 times.”Scorpius murmured into her shoulder. Rose giggled as he dragged his fingers across her sides, rolling off her shirt.

“Alright...rock paper scissors.” she demanded. “Rock paper scissors, loser has to top.”

“Okay…”

_“1,2,3…_

“Dammit.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the Malfoys.

Scorpius stood outside the gates of the Manor, waiting for Rose’s mouth to stop hanging open. His home had changed in the last couple years--there were more house-elves working on his mother’s elaborate hedges. 

“Are you done?” he whispered. “Mum is going to be expecting us any minute.”

“Give me a second.” she shook her head. “I know...I knew what your house would be like it’s just...I don’t know what I expected.”

Rose’s childhood home was by no means small. But it wasn’t like this. She could only imagine actually living here. Scorpius nudged her forward, walking through the gate. It was morning, right around 11 AM. Rose looked down at her outfit for a second. It was late September in Wiltshire, meaning the leaves had been turning a beautiful array of colors that she tried to match with her golden sweater and jeans. Now she just felt tacky. Scorpius was wearing a t-shirt and dirty slacks, but he used to live here. Rose suddenly wished she’d put on a more red lipstick or had redone her nails or maybe curled her hair more. 

Wait. What the fuck did she care? She was just meeting Scorpius’s parents. It’s not like he was her actual boyfriend or fiance. He hadn’t let her kiss him in a month. Except for the other night, when she ambushed him. She still didn’t know her motivation for that. But they didn’t need to talk about it, both dismissing it in their heads as a moment of weakness over and over again. And besides, a first impression doesn’t matter when you’re planning on breaking up with their son as soon as possible.

“Scorpius!” she heard. They’d made it halfway down the walkway and Astoria Malfoy spotted him out of the corner of her window. She’d thrown the door opened and waved her son down. Scorpius shook his head, chuckling. He grabbed Rose’s hand and waved back at her with the other one.

“Mum!” he shouted at her as they approached the grand steps. “What’re you doing?”

“Hello!” Astoria jumped, hair and neck scarf flowing in the wind with a large smile. The sunshine hit her face perfectly, making her look youthful and radiant. Rose smiled shyly as Scorpius led her up the stairs.

It was okay. They didn’t need to like her. They probably already didn’t. It’s been 10 months and she’s barely acknowledged their existence while gallivanting around with their only son. Rose shook her head. No, that didn’t matter. Who cared what they thought?

Scorpius gathered the small woman in a hug, lifting her. Astoria wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, breathing him in.

With a sad and simple pang on her her heart, Rose realized that she did. She cared very much what they thought.

As he placed her down, he chided her for her lack of coat. “Mum, you’re gonna catch a cold.”

“Not if Thora has anything to do with it. She’s the new healer I told you we hired. She’s wonderful, you should have her check out that stuffy nose I heard on the phone last week.” Astoria poked at Scorpius’s cheeks. He smiled. Rose smoothed out her sweater dress.

“Shut up, Mum. Oh, this is Rose.” he said, gesturing towards Rose. He moved from his mother to stand beside Rose, wrapping an arm around her. Astoria smiled again, but it was softer now...and a little bit incredulous. She moved forward daintily, and placed a hand on Rose’s, squeezing it tight. Rose found herself at a loss for words.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Astoria said, genuinely. As if it really was a pleasure. Rose looked down shyly. She had the same grey eyes that Scorpius did. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Rose parroted. 

“We’ve heard so much about you.” Astoria continued. “I’m really glad Scorpius has had someone like you to take care of him these past couple months. We both are.”

Rose’s heart was breaking.

“Speaking of both of us, where is your father? Come, come, sit inside, entertain yourselves. Queenie and Jasper are already here, Olivia and your Aunt Daphne are going to be late--of course. I’m going to go drag your father from his study.” Astoria said, flitting about and ushering them inside.

Rose entered the Manor, immediately faced with 2 people on the couch watching WizTV. It was Queenie, whom Rose has met briefly, and a young man--presumably Jasper. Scorpius pulled her forward.

“Now look who the cat dragged in.” The boy, Jasper, said with a good natured smile. “Queenie and I were starting to worry.”

“And miss a chance to see your face for the next 3 days, Jasper? Never.” Scorpius pulled the man into a hug. “How is school? Still going out with the Texas girl?”

“Good, actually. We just started training for the World Potions Championship. I’m starting for the broom-racing team. And yes, I went to Winter Cotillion with Maria.” Jasper said. “How’re you? Well actually...I guess I can already see how you’re doing.” Jasper said, giving Rose a cocky little smile, one she was used to. “Hi, I’m Jasper, I’m Scorpius’s cousin. And...I know who you are.”

Scorpius faltered as Rose chuckled. Oh, she had definitely seen this smile before. Scorpius cleared his throat loudly. Rose bit back a giggle. There was no need for Scorpius to be jealous of a 17 year old boy--they were literally 25. But she liked teasing him.

“Alright, remember Maria, Jasper.” Scorpius warned lowly. He placed his arm around Rose’s waist, bringing her closer. Rose grinned, as he squeezed around her waist tighter than usual. 

“Yeah, um, Scorpius told me all about you. It’s really nice to meet you, Jasper.” Rose smiled back and tossed her hair, moving forward to shake his outstretched hand. Jasper, at a loss for words, nodded his head.

“Well...it’s really nice to meet you.” Jasper stammered a little, holding on her hand a little too long. “You’re just as pretty as Queenie said you were.”

Scorpius shoved Jasper, disconnecting their hands. 

“Thank you.” Rose said drawled sweetly, blinking up at Scorpius. “Why don’t you ever compliment me like that?”

He was going to kill her. She bit back a laugh as Scorpius glared at her.

Queenie and another young woman entered before Scorpius could answer, tying up her hair and eating a treacle tart. Rose turned to them both and smiled.

“Oh, hello, I’m Queenie. We’ve met.” She said, mouth full of tart. “Sorry, I’m a literal mess right now. They just...they don’t have a lot of good treacle tart in New York. Not the way Thora makes it.”

“I’m Thora, by the way.” the young woman beamed, shaking their hands. “I’m Astoria’s healer. And don’t worry, I already know who you both are. It’s so nice to meet you,”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Scorpius said genuinely. “Thank you for taking care of my mother.” 

“Oh please, she’s a joy.” Thora’s eyes widened. “ Astoria never stops talking about you guys. Oh! And she wanted me to bring out the scrapbook.”

“Oh look, Scorp. She even broke out the baby videos.” Queenie said from her place next to Jasper, pointing at the scrapbook on the coffee table. “Alacritas! Look. It’s you!”

Rose led Scorpius to the couch, taking a seat in front of Queenie.

Video flashed in front of her of Astoria pregnant with Scorpius and giving Draco a kiss on the cheek, then the day Scorpius was born--Halloween 2006--and coming home to the Manor. Scorpius looking around the same age as Jeremy on his very own toy broom, holding his stuffed Golden Snidget near and dear, Scorpius sitting on his grandmother’s lap, Scorpius holding a violin with the help of a house-elf, Scorpius getting a wound kissed by his father. Coloring with enchanted crayons with his mother on what looked like Christmas. Rose smiled, laughing at the video of ten year old Scorpius getting his Hogwarts letter.

“This is embarrassing.” Scorpius mumbled. 

“It’s cute, Scorpius.” Rose insisted, as the videos started to replay. Scorpius rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, pressing it against his mouth. Rose’s heart skipped a beat, watching him kiss every finger patiently.

“Scorpius?” the sound of his father’s voice made Scorpius look up at the mirror. Rose quickly removed her hand from his and stood up in unison with Scorpius.

“Hey, dad.” Scorpius mumbled. “This is Rose.”

Rose looked over at Draco. He and Scorpius looked just alike. He definitely took after his father. Rose stuck her hand out to shake his and he accepted it, placing her hand between both of his.

“Glad you came,” he said curtly. Rose nodded.

“Glad to be here,” she answered, as Scorpius placed his hand around her waist again. Astoria beamed between the both of them.

“Alright, so.” Queenie said, grabbing the Floo powder from the coffee table. “So me and Jas are going into Muggle London for the afternoon. We’ll see you, tonight. Nice meeting you, Rose. See ya later.”

They waved goodbye as Queenie and her brother tossed the Floo powder down, yelling out their location. It was suddenly just them and Scorpius’s parents in the room. Thora handed a coat to Draco, who helped place it on his wife.

“And where are you going?” Scorpius asked.

“Oh yes.” she smiled. “And I forgot, uh, me and Draco have to go pick up your Aunt Daphne and Uncle Omar. Olivia is coming tomorrow. Don’t wait up on us.”

“What are you two up to?” Scorpius scrunched his nose.

“I think I’m finally going to make your father and Omar take Daph and I to that new Indian restaurant in downtown Oxfordshire. Scorpius, you should give Rose a tour of the house. Explore Wiltshire.”

“We didn’t think you’d need a guest room,” Draco said stiffly. “If you don’t mind.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” Rose shrugged. 

“Alright, have fun, you two.”

And with that, Draco apparated his wife and him away and Scorpius and Rose were alone in the Malfoy Manor. If her father could see her now.

“Come with me,” Scorpius said, leading her up the grand stairs. Rose blinked, following him up 2 flights of stairs in anxious silence. She couldn’t believe Scorpius was able to do this whole act at the Burrow. She couldn’t imagine lying to that many people when lying to his mom made her this sad.

“What are you even doing?” Rose said as Scorpius pointed his wand at the ceiling. A door appeared with a string swinging from it, which Scorpius quickly snatched and pulled down. Stairs appeared and Rose blinked.

“I wanted to show you my favorite part of my house.” Scorpius said, leading her up the stairs. 

“I don’t know.” Rose said. “You know I don’t like heights. Or stairs.”

“I know.” Scorpius said, grabbing her hands. “Now, come on.”

Rose smiled at the gesture, letting him grab her hands and lead her up the tiny passageway. Scorpius helped her into her into the attack and pointed his wall at the staircase, causing it to fold up. Rose blinked around for a second, allowing her eyes to adjust to the moonlight.

The room was pretty bare. There was a bookshelf on one wall, posters of constellations and pictures of family on the other. He had a framed card of Perpetua Fancourt. Rose saw discarded telescopes everywhere, a large elaborate lunascope, a desk with open pens and pencils. The ceiling was the best part. A clean glass window, giving her a gorgeous view of the stars. 

“What is all this?” Rose whispered, ever curious.

“I used to be really into astronomy.” Scorpius shrugged. “Because of my name and my life is just one big cliche. My dad showed me my constellation one day. I was 12 and obsessed. I would spend all my nights here, just charting and reading and observing. I haven’t looked at this place in a long time.”

“This doesn’t look like a 12 year old’s work, Scorpius.” Rose said, impressed as she picked up some of his books. The Complete Works of Copernicus. Astronomy textbooks from Ilvermorny and Uagadau. Encyclopedias with pages earmarked and booked. Rose ran her finger over the cover of one of them.

“One holiday, my cousins came to visit with their Astronomy textbooks. And I begged them to let me buy them off them. And then I learned of all the things American Muggles did in space, the Space Race and all of that, and how great it all was. And I thought, why can’t wizards do that.” Scorpius sat on the couch in the corner, looking up at the sky. “I did a ton of research on the limits space puts on magic. And how that relates with Divination and all of that.”

“That’s so fucking interesting.” Rose whispered. “You were president of the Astronomy Club at Hogwarts, weren’t you?”

“Vice President.” Scorpius smirked at her. “Bethany Wu was President. Hated her. Total popularity contest. Couldn’t tell you the difference between Orion’s Belt or his shoes.”

Rose gave a contemplative noise in response. He watched her, drenched in moonlight read over his scribbles and theories. Rose turned page after page, devouring every complex equation and cosmic explanation one by one. Sometimes...sometimes she forgot how smart he was. This work combined Astronomy with Divination with Arithmancy with Muggle Studies…and this was in-depth stuff, tracking the patterns of planets and stars over at least 5 years. And his theories were so...immersive. She couldn’t help herself.

“Why did you stop?” She turned to him quickly. Scorpius was staring at the ceiling.

“I graduated.” Scorpius said nonchalantly. “It was time to move out and get a job and do all of that.”

“Where did you work?” Rose blinked. “You know before dealing drugs.”

Scorpius gave her a look, kind of annoyed and kind of amused. “I was a part time Apparition Licenser.”

“No fucking way.” Rose laughed. 

“That’s why I never make fun of you for hating Apparating.” Scorpius laughed with her. “I’ve seen some shit shows, I know what Splinching looks like on every body part. And I only worked two days a week max, and even then it was more paperwork than Apparating. It was barely work. Just something to do. Pass the time.”

“Are you taking the piss? Why did you never tell me?” Rose giggled. Scorpius sighed.

“I could barely get you to tell me your middle name, didn’t want to scare you off with all that intimacy about my first post-school job.” Scorpius rolled his eyes good-naturedly. 

Rose looked back at the desk. “Is that what you imagined you’d be doing?”

“What?”

“Things you’re not passionate about.”

Scorpius was silent.

“The licenses, the drugs, the goblins and the Gringotts work...you don’t care about those things. Why do you do them? Where is it going to get you?”

“I like my job fine. I had other things to worry about. Like the bounty on my head. Any job was better than no job.” Scorpius’s voice was difficult to dissect. Rose turned to him, watching as he stared at the stars above. Rose tilted her head, stepping toward him.

“You know what passion is, Scorpius. I know you do.” Rose shook her head. “Why didn’t you ever...why didn’t you ever consider continuing Astronomy?”

“Well, Professor Malfoy doesn’t have a nice ring to it, does it?” Scorpius responded sharply. Rose shook her head. “That’s all Astronomy could do. All I could do with Astronomy was teach and I can’t--Grandfather told me as much. I can’t subject myself to teach confined to the place that my family once desecrated.”

“No. That’s not true. For one, your father himself went back to Hogwarts for his 7th year. And even if you don’t want to teach, there’s organizations and apprenticeships and jobs in the Ministry that you could look into. If you showed anyone this research...Scorpius…” Rose bent down on her knees to become eye level with him. He maintained an avoidance of eye contact.

“Don’t, Rose.” Scorpius said softly. 

“I’m serious.” Rose said, grabbing his cheek to force him to look at her. 

Scorpius looked at her face. His heart almost malfunctioned, beating erratically as a warm feeling spread. Her brown eyes against the moonlight were two of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. He had to force himself to blink.

“It’s not that easy.” he hated the quiet tremor in this voice. “You have ghosts--you love working with ghosts. Albus has Goblins, Molly has WizLGBT, Lily has Wizard Twitter, Dominique has fashion, Like 3 of you run WWW in different countries. And those are just the cousins that I remember. And some of them are barely 18 years old, straight out of Hogwarts. Everyone in your family has their thing, so it may seem like that’s the way things go for everyone else in the world, but it’s not. It’s different when you’re the son of a former Death Eater.”

“We worked hard to get to where we are.” Rose shook her head. “There were no DA handouts if that’s what you’re suggesting...well. I can’t speak for all of us. At least not for me. Or Molly or Albus or Fred.”

“It’s not even just that. ” Scorpius said. “Dad and Mum haven’t worked a day in their lives. They don’t have jobs. Dad has passions but he’s so scared to lose them that he’s afraid to even talk about them. And I couldn’t even tell you about my mum, her only passion was helping the witch she hired with home-schooling me and my violin lessons. I didn’t have a big family. I didn’t know how to find my thing for a long time.”

Rose could only imagine not having at the very least, a Hugo. Rose tried to think of it, imagined tiny Scorpius playing with his cat, all alone. Sometimes with a friend from the neighborhood. But one that would always have to leave. Scorpius being taught by a tutor-witch instead of going to regular Muggle primary school like Rose and Hugo did--on their mother’s insistence. No ballet class. No little league Quidditch. No pretending she could talk to Crookshanks II to freak Hugo and her dad out. No watching Roxanne be born and seeing Fred cry. No sleepovers with Molly and Lucy. No Meatball Quidditch with James and Fred after Sunday dinners at the Burrow. No sneaking cookies and pastry puffs with Albus. No Christmas sweaters. No helping Victoire pick her birthday dresses. None of that.

But there were the images of baby Scorpius in the scrapbook. Him playing with the lights his father made with his wand. Young Scorpius picking out a book and the night healer and his mother teaching Scorpius how to read from Loony Bonby comics. Young Scorpius practicing his Magical Alphabet.Visiting his cousins in New York, spending holidays with them. His grandmother placing wet kisses on his face when no one is looking. His grandfather watching him play violin. Not knowing he was surrounded by love,

“You weren’t alone, Scorpius.” Rose said, sure of herself. “You had...so much love, you were raised with so much love. And you did find your thing. And it’s this. This research...it’s important. Not just to you but the wizarding world. And I won’t let you leave this attic until you admit it.”

Scorpius watched her silently, smiling as he tucked a hair behind her ear. Heat rose to her face.

“Stop with the eyes.” Rose hit his chest, ignoring the thumping in her heart. “Admit it.”

“I admit it.”

“You what?” Rose had anticipated more fighting. Scorpius nodded at her, bringing his hand to her chin. The familiar jerk forward made butterflies appear in her stomach as he brought her lips to his, sealing his promise with a chaste kiss. Rose pouted when he pulled away; she had more arguing left in her. 

“I just want one more proper look at you before you eat my face.” Scorpius said, tilting her face towards the moonlight. Rose rolled her eyes.  
“Beautiful.” he muttered. Her heart stuttered. It was okay she told herself. It was okay because they were at the Manor per their agreement. He was just doing his job. 

“Don’t think this conversation is over.”

Scorpius made a clucking noise. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Now come here,” His lips met hers again, a familiar dance.


	20. Chapter 20

Astoria Malfoy smiled as she walked in downtown Oxfordshire with her family. Arm and arm with her sister, they’d begun talking about the things that had been making them both the most happy and the most frustrated: their children.

“Scorpius and that Rose girl are pretty serious.” Astoria smiled. “It took him years to bring Haley or anyone to my birthday party before. There’s something different with this one.”

“I’d say so.” Daphne smiled. “Omar and I think it’s amazing how they’re basically tabloid gold in America. Olivia does too, of course.”

“Do you think cliches exist to be broken?” Astoria asked her sister. “I mean, this Romeo and Juliet act might get old for them one day.”

“Impossible.” Daphne said, turning around to watch their husbands talk. “You know how Scorpius gets.”

“I know how he gets.” Astoria sighed. “But when the going gets tough...I don’t know, Daph. I’m just...scared...happy, excited, all at once.”

“Be careful what you wish for next time, dear.” Daphne chuckled.“I can’t even imagine what I would be like if Jasper came to me and said he was getting married to a halfblood--”

“Daphne.”

“Not like that!” Daphne countered. “It’s just that, considering that we’re a prodigal pureblood family and Omar’s family is one of the most distinguished pureblood families in America, I just know it might be jarring for me. There’s nothing wrong with dating a halfblood, I wouldn’t stop him but...think of the children, Astoria”

Astoria rolled her eyes at her sister.

“Those children would be fine. Years ago, someone would have said that about you and Omar considering that he's black and you're not. And you know that's wrong. " Astoria motioned to their husbands in front of them. Daphne bit her lip.

"But nevertheless,” Astoria bumped hips with her sister teasingly, trying to bring light back to the conversation. “Think of the children Olivia might have.”

“That’s not fair.” Daphne hissed. “Don’t compare Olivia’s situation to this.”

“If by situation, you mean girlfriend, then sure. And while I personally find nothing wrong with that either, I mean hey, at least she’s a pureblood.” Astoria laughed. “Be careful what _you_ wish for.”

* * *

Rose traced her pointer finger down his back, dipping into the curves and valleys of his skin. She watched Scorpius intently as he dozed off. The sun was about to set, not there yet but getting ready. She had a front row view from her position on the ground of his study room, looking up at the sky. They’d ended up on the floor, wrapped in a throw blanket on the carpeting. One of the more comfortable floors she’d ended up on in her and Scorpius’s tenure. His arms were around her. And he was lightly sleeping, almost awake, eyes fluttering behind his sockets.

His hair was a dirtier blond than his father’s, but he refused to get a haircut when she told him to so now it was shaggy and curling over the tops of his ears like Hugo's often did. Her hand moved to the back of his neck, wrapping her fingers around the overgrown hair there again and again. Her favorite thing to do was watch his hair curl right back after her fingers had been through it.

She thought that feelings were controllable before him.

And now, she realized that they are not. Feelings had a mind of their own. Feelings wanted her to lay here and watch the sun’s last rays graze over this man’s face. A man who has convinced her to let her walls not only break but come crashing down without warning. Feelings wanted her to revel in the way his lean arms pressed against her. Feelings wanted her to notice his warmth. His smile. 

And she was angry about it.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She wasn’t supposed to be doing the most cliche thing she could think of but here she was watching him drool and snore and she could count the boogers in his nose since she was so up close.  And it was the most unattractive thing in the world but all she could think about was how soft his lips looked. How pretty his skin looked when it was peppered with her lipstick and her bruises. How the hair on his arm raised wherever she dragged her nails. How he looked so simple in this moment, wondering how anyone could be afraid of this person or not think this was enough. Because this was more than enough.

She wasn’t supposed to love him.

But she did.

God, didn’t that fucking suck.

“Are you done staring at me?” Scorpius mumbled suddenly a minute later. She jolted in his arms, but immediately settled back into them. She grinned at him lazily, stroking her thumb across his cheeks.

“No.” she answered defiantly.

“My parents will be back any minute.” Scorpius said. “But really, I don’t know what they were expecting leaving you alone with me.”

“Shut up.” Rose scoffed. “So a minute ago, you weren’t just begging me to--”

“Shhh. No need to gloat.” Scorpius muttered, rubbing his own hands on her arms. He rolled over onto her gently, stuffing his face in the crook of her neck to shut her up. Rose giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck as he began to stand up. He grabbed her legs, bringing her up with him as he stood. She laughed softly as she allowed him to carry her down the stairs.

“Wait--I think…” Rose’s wand began to vibrate halfway down the stairs towards the living room. She moved to check who it was as he placed her on the last step.

“It’s Luna.” she said quizzically. “Hello? Auntie Luna? What is--what? Skeeter? Slow down…hold on…”

Rose had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She turned to look at Scorpius again, who had the same sinking feeling. He led her to the living room, turned to the TV and changed the channel to WitchWatch.

“ _BREAKING NEWS_.” the screen read.

The TV announcer looked scandalized. “Sad day for love: one of our favorite couples has called it quits for good. Here we have footage of Lily Luna Scamander, or should we say Potter, fleeing from cameras with BFF and cousin Hugo Weasley after paparazzi shoot footage of Lysander Scamander without a wedding ring was found. The couple has filed for divorce. After an anonymous tip, we followed up at Grandma Luna’s house...where the twins are staying and have been staying for an undisclosed amount of time. Take a look.”

Video of Neville rushing the twins into the house appeared as Luna waved a flaming sage stick at the reporters to will them away. Then video of Lily with Hugo in Hogsmeade appeared, where they spotted the paparazzi and you could see the moment where Lily’s eyes widened. They yelled questions at her but she was frozen. Her eyes welled up with tears before she remembered that she was a witch, grabbed her wand and Hugo’s arm from across the store, and Apparated them somewhere. Rose’s hands flew to her face.

“Earlier this year, the two faced the death of the great Rolf Scamander together. But it seems as if the death of his father has taken a much greater toll than originally thought. After the break, Wizard Twitter reacts to the news of the alleged break up and we count down the top 10 biggest Scamander moments of the year.”

Scorpius tried to survey Rose’s face. But there were too many emotions to count. Rose turned to him, angry and ready to lash out before she stomped upstairs.

Scorpius followed her upstairs, wordless. He knew he probably shouldn’t of, probably should have given her a moment to cool down but he couldn’t. Rose entered the room they were sharing. Scorpius wedged himself in before she could slam the door on him.

“This is so fucked up.” she moaned, crossing her arms and shuffling back and forth.

“Rose, I know.” Scorpius said.

“I knew I shouldn’t have told anyone. Shouldn’t have made it a big deal.” Rose wasn’t listening, more talking aloud. “How could this have gotten out...unless…”

Scorpius jumped ahead of her conclusion, following her narrowed eyes in his direction. “Rose, you know I didn’t sell you out to a fucking paper. I hate paps more than you do.”

“Yeah, okay. But did you tell anyone?” Rose accused him, the first moving thing she saw. Scorpius thought briefly of Babicz but shook that off in his head “That’s just as good as writing Julie Skeeter about this shit. Do you know what this is going to do to her? Lily of all people? And you couldn’t just keep your mouth shut. Oh fuck, this is all my fault.”

“It’s not.” Scorpius shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rose.”

“I told you not to say anything. I sat there in your bed, pouring my soul out to you about this.  Unbelievable.” she bit at him, storming around the room. “I have to go to her.”

“No, no, Rose” he watched her search around the room for her bags. “You’re just upset, you want to protect Lily, I know.”

“Do you?” Rose looked at him, eyes full of steel. “I don’t know why I trusted you. Someone who’s never dealt with media like we do. Someone who doesn’t know what family even is.”

That one stung. Even she could tell. But he knew she didn’t mean it.

“Rose.” he put a hand on her shoulders. “I don’t know how this leaked but come on, you know it wasn’t me.”

“Well, I literally told no one else! Hugo didn’t. Al didn’t. James didn’t.” she threw his arms down. “I’m not even sure if Vani knew, Scorpius because Al and I didn’t even talk about it with her. That’s how serious this was.”

“I would never do that.” Scorpius shook his head. “You know I would never do that. Put a Truth Serum on me right now, I swear on everything I love. It wasn’t me.”

Rose blinked, turning away from him. It sounded like the truth and she wanted to believe him.

“I don’t know, Scorpius.” Rose shook her head. “Maybe we just--”

Scorpius heard a dull vibrate in his back pocket. It was his Muggle phone. The Zach phone. Rose looked at the caller ID: Yuri’s Take-Away.

“It’s Zach.” Scorpius said. “The drug dealer.”

“I know who he is. Answer it.”

Scorpius nodded. He answered the call the same way he always did, exasperated.

“What do you want, Zach?”

“Just wanted to let your little fiance know, thank you.”

Scorpius choked on his own spit at the shock of Zach bringing up Rose. Rose’s eyebrows rose so far into her head that they disappeared.

“Don’t talk about her.” he said immediately, spitting into the phone. "I swear to god, what did you do?"

“She’s helped us out a lot, I just wanted to express my gratitude. That ring she wears around her neck makes it very easy for us to hear everything.” Rose gasped, hands flying around her neck and then embedding themselves into her hair. Zach continued.“But seriously. I just wanted to call...just a thank you from me and my good friend Julie Skeeter for the exclusive.”

The doorbell rang.

“Right on time.” Zach hissed, the call disconnecting. Rose turned her attention to the door. Scorpius's phone started to shudder and shake until it started to disentegrate into dust. He knew exactly what that meant. But that couldn't be possible. The doorbell rang again.

“I got it!” Thora’s lilting voice called from the hall.

Scorpius was not quick enough to stop her. He moved towards the door, as Rose ripped the ring from around her neck. Wand drawn, she stumbled behind Scorpius as Thora swung the door open.

“Haley?”

A woman fell forward, obviously weak. Scorpius and Thora caught her partly on the way down, resting her on the floor. Rose rushed forward, standing behind Scorpius. Her mouth was stitched shut and she was twitching like she’d been Crucio’d for a long time.

Scorpius swallowed as he stared down at Haley. Rose’s hands flew to her face.

“Well, isn’t this a sight to see.” he heard a crack behind him. Scorpius recognized that voice.

“Grandfather.” Scorpius said, passing Haley’s head to Thora’s lap as he stood up to greet his grandparents.

Rose cringed as she watched the unfamiliar girl’s head thud in Thora’s lap and stared up at Scorpius’s grandfather who barely regarded her. His gaze was fixed on his grandson, who was trying his best not to falter under his grandfather’s gaze. His grandmother regarded her quickly, Scorpius’s neck and lipstick stains just as quickly, before returning her attention to the barely conscious girl on the floor.

As if this couldn’t get any worse.

“Would you like me to call the Zabinis?” Thora whispered. “Hello? Anyone?”


	21. Chapter 21

That’s how they ended up sitting around his kitchen table, contemplating a body. Rose holding his arm so tightly she was cutting off circulation. His grandparents, prim and proper, in the corner, stirring tea. His aunt and most of his cousins were upstairs in bed. Queenie and Thora were working on healing Haley as fast as they could before her parents arrived to take her to St. Mungo’s. And his parents, were up and pacing.

“No one’s seen her for years, Scorpius. Except you.” was the first thing his father said while his mother wrung her hands and nodded at his father. He wasn’t sure of what they were accusing him of yet but he didn’t like it. Neither did Rose. He could tell by the way she gripped his shirt tighter.

“I haven’t seen her in a long time. She left me.” he said. “She came here, just like that. And I swear on my life. She has a drug problem, nothing’s off limits for an addict. Also, I have an alibi.” Scorpius sighed.

“What alibi? What were you doing?”

“Rose.” He got a well-deserved slap on the arm for that one.

“Scorpius.” his mother tutted softly. “It’s just you mean to tell the media...that your ex-fiance shows up at our door when you’re clearly with your new fiance and ends up Crucio’d. There’s motive there. For both of you. Jealousy, anger, hurt, pain. Could have spun it to be the Death Eater family turning the golden daughter into a killer. This could have been bad.”

“Thank god for that anti paparazzi jinx.” his grandmother said.

Rose sighed, knowing his parents were right.

“He’s not lying.” This was the first time she’d spoken since the debacle. Everyone kind of turned to her. “Haley just showed up out of nowhere. No one touched her. I wouldn’t let the media spin such a story, I promise.”

“Empty promises do nothing.” Scorpius’s grandfather said plainly. “We can only hope that the girl doesn’t see this as her 15 minutes of fame and try to spin it that way.”

“It looks suspicious, Scorpius.” his father muttered. “It looks like--”

“Like I Crucio’d her? I would never do that.” It was silent for a second, heavy with words that weren’t being said. Everyone felt the air change. Rose squeezed his arm harder. His father looked down at the ground. “Dad, you know I would never do that. Just use a truth potion.”

“Son.”

“No.” Scorpius shook his head. “Then everyone will know.”

“But people will think!” his father exclaimed. “We can’t convince them not to do that.”

“And I don’t care what they think!” Scorpius yelled back. Draco huffed in frustration.

“Of course you don’t. Clearly, you don’t care.”

“And Grandfather, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Scorpius, you don’t have to--”

“No Rose! As long as we know the truth, then I don’t--”

“Everybody quiet!” Astoria yelled over them.

Thora entered the room, eyes wide and healing gloves on.

“Um,” Thora cleared her throat. “She’s asking to see Rose and Scorpius.”

 

* * *

 

AHaley was fucking tired.

As Scorpius and Rose scuttled into the makeshift hospital room that was his parlor, she observed them in her haze. Queenie was always primarily an herb-based healer, and it showed. The nurse she didn’t recognize led them in and then closed the door, giving them the privacy she asked for. She swallowed the last bit of the truth pill in front of the nurse for them, just to prove she wasn’t lying.

Haley watched the man she used to love assess the situation in front of him.

“Scorpius.” Haley breathed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” he shook his head. “Did Zach do this to you?”

“No. He made them take turns.” Haley felt her eyes well up with tears. Her Zach. Forcing her people to torture her. Without blinking an eye.

“What happened?”

“I let Morgan get away. That’s what started this all. And he was pissed when we lost her body. And then he found out about the note. He tried to get the enchanted ink to work but you’d burned the note before he could. And then he found out about the ring. And I begged him, I said no, please leave that alone. I begged him to enchant something else.” Haley let out a deep breath.

“He got so mad at me when I didn’t let him do it at first. And then he went and did it. He said I betrayed him. He didn’t know where my loyalty was. Said that he was done with me.” Haley shook her head. “That I served his purpose to him and I wasn’t needed. That he was going to give me back once and for all.”

Scorpius bent to her level, wrapping her in a tight hug. Rose watched as Haley sobbed into Scorpius’s shoulder. And he held her, welcoming her home.

“Morgan and Babicz. They aren’t safe, Scorpius. Please, you need to go get them. Bring them home, hide them, I don’t care.” she shook in his arms. “They know he helped you with Morgan. You need to go.”

Scorpius cursed, pulling away. He turned to Rose, who was biting her lip. He had to warn Babicz.

“If you think you’re going without me--” Rose started but Scorpius wasn’t hearing it.

“This isn’t your problem, Rose, you shouldn’t have to fix it.” Scorpius muttered. “You don’t have to get dragged down into my shit, this is all my fault.”

“Hey.” Rose stepped into his personal space. “Don’t you dare leave me here with your grandfather.”

“...fair point.”

And If you asked Rose at the beginning of this year, if she’d be stalking around the home of her Malfoy fiance’s best friend’s house in order to see if he and his ex-girlfriend (who is now the best friend’s lover) was getting tortured by a mid-tier drug dealer...she would say well, at least not before she had her coffee.

* * *

 

When they reached the house, there was a hole in the door. Scorpius reached through the hole and unlocked the door, pushing it open. Everything was eerily still. Quiet. There was no clutter. Number one sign that something was wrong.

“Scorp,” Rose whispered. “In here.”

It was Babicz’s guest room. They pressed their ear to the door, hearing light crying. Scorpius wandlessly tried to open the door but it wasn't happening. Rose lightly tapped on the door for him.

“Morgan?” he croaked, banging on the door. “Morgan, hey is that you? It's Scorpius. Where's Babicz?”

“Scorpius, you're gonna scare her.” Rose tutted.

“So? I don't trust her as far as I can-”

The door swung open. Morgan, clad in one of Babixz’s t shirts, was red and blotchy in the face. She turned to Scorpius quickly.

“I could kill you.” She glowered, glare piercing through his skin. “But she'd kill me so I can't.”

“Morgan, where is he?” Scorpius swallowed. “What'd they do to him?”

Morgan sniffled again. “They took him. Right from me. And it's your fault. This is all your fault. I can't believe you let them take him.”

“I didn't even know!” Scorpius ran his hands through his hair, frustrated.

“He's gone. We were about to leave for work this morning and I was going to go give him his Floor powder and I wasn't looking for one minute, literally a minute and I turn and he's gone. They took him back to Zach. It's over.” Morgan's voice broke as she started crying and yelling at the same time. “You always do this. Your knight in shining armor routine, your good guy just a little too late bit. But really, this is all your fault. And you just can't accept blame, can you? Well, you always take what I love and ruin them. From Haley to Babicz...you did this. If it weren't for you, we would have been fine.”

Scorpius cursed, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

“Don't cry to me. Let's not forget how Beth died. An overdose. That you probably sold to her. You gave her the lighter. You put the nail in the coffin, you were the only one she'd listen to and you didn't tell her anything and now she's dead and so is the man I love. And the blood, it's not on my hands. Its. All. On. You.”

He was about to start apologizing profusely to Morgan when she was blasted backwards into the living room. Shocked, he gripped his wand out of instinct--preparing for a fight. His first instinct was to protect Rose: this was his battle not hers. But as he continued to look for the origin of the blast...he saw none other than Rose, wand drawn and eyebrows furrowed.

“Rose, what the fuck?”

“The bitch is lying.” Rose said calmly but boiling with rage.

“What?” Scorpius said, incredulous.

“She's lying. Look.” Rose pointed at Morgan. There was a glitch on her skin, shocking her. She cried out in pain, mouth croaking open with a continuous moan that seemed inhumane. Scorpius stepped back, besides Rose. .

“She's been possessed.Not by a ghost though.” Rose shook her head. “It’s...something darker than that. Something is controlling her body. She's being used as a host. We need to go before-”

A groan emitted from Morgan, and a dark wisp of light slithered from her mouth and pooled into the ground, oozing toward them and growing like a tidal wave. She felt the air around them grow cold and sting. Morgan started to screech and yell, as if being tortured from the inside out.

“Shit.” Scorpius groaned. The ooze was going too quick to run, surrounding them and pinning them against a wall. The ooze cornered Rose’s foot and she yelped in pain, leaving a burn mark on her jeans. Scorpius’s heart rate started to speed up as they backed into a wall instinctively.  
Watching Rose wince as she rolled her ankle, he knew he had to think fast. Reaching for Rose’s hand, he did the first thing he could think of--completely unsure if it would work but worth giving a shot. “Expecto Patronum!” From the tip of his wand emerged a raven, talons out and wings drawn. The black ooze faltered and stopped in it's tracks.

Rose copied his move, casting her own Patronus. An owl protruded,hooting fiercely at the ooze. The sea of dark matter backed down considerably but not enough for them to get to Morgan and help her. Rose buried herself in Scorpius's embrace and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember her go to happy memory (riding her bike in her tutu on the day of her last summer dance recital, when she had a solo and got chocolate chip ice cream in Hogsmeade after). Scorpius pressed chin to her forehead and tried to do the same.

The raven squawked louder, swirling around the dark matter. Scorpius blinked for a second, I guess it decided that winning the last Slytherin game his 7th year wasn’t strong enough anymore...and started to think about Rose. Rose's laugh. Apples and gardenias. The way Rose’s nose crinkled when she was deep in thought, hard at work. How caring and thoughtful she was. The adorable way she rolled her eyes. The way her lips curved upwards when she smiled in between kisses. The way she tasted sweet, even when she had morning breath. The perfect simplicity of just waking up with her in his arms and how he'd be damned if he let Zach’s trap take that away from him.

Rose, unbeknownst to him, was doing the same. Her mind remembering the smallest, fondest memories of him and these past few months. The way he kissed the extra skin on her stomach or always seemed to play with her ring finger. The finger underneath her chin. How intelligent he was. How much fun they had together. When he helped her babysit Karin and Jeremy that one time and he didn’t even realize--had no idea--how good he is with children, and how she would never admit this out loud but after that, she'd spend hours daydreaming about what a good father he'd be. And she couldn't let the world deprive her of that.

A second passed and Morgan's groaning subsided. They blinked their eyes open.

Morgan was now curled in a ball, shaking. The black goo had been banished. Her skin had stopped glitching. The owl and the raven circled each other now affectionately, until they allowed their wings to embrace each other and disappeared. Rose let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. But behind the entangled Patronuses, she saw a tiny butterfly Patronus that didn’t belong to either of them and they stared as it flew in the direction of its spellcaster.

“Al.” Scorpius swallowed .

Rose looked at her cousin in the doorway, shocked. Behind him was Babicz, being held up by Hugo. A bloodhound Patronus bounded towards Hugo, barking excitedly.

“Morgan!” Babicz croaked. She twitched on the ground, jolting at the sound of his voice. She feebly raised her head and looked for him. Hugo helped Babicz hobble into the living room and sat him on the couch. Scorpius reached Morgan and did the same. Albus went for Rose, enveloping her in a tight hug.

While in the embrace, Rose looked out of the corner of her eye. Morgan had turned to Babicz, who was getting held up and inspected by Scorpius, tears streaming down their faces. Hugo made eye contact with her and offered a smile. She disengaged from Albus and went for Hugo, pressing into him tightly.

“How did you find us?” she breathed.

“Babicz was ambushed on his way to work but he got away.” Hugo mumbled. “He stumbled into WWW, thought it was the bank. I called Al because Babicz said you were in trouble. We gave him a truth pill. He told us everything.”

Rose felt a pang deep in her gut.

“Everything?”

Hugo nodded. “Everything.”

“Define everything.”

“Zach Yates. The drugs and what was going on.” Rose’s eyes shut. “I get why you didn't tell us but Jesus fucking Christ, Rose, this could have been bad. Shit.”

Rose felt her eyes welling up with tears.

“I know, Hugo, I just…” Rose trailed off, trying to organize thoughts. She doesn't know what she thought really. She just trusted. “I wasn't going to let him do this by himself. He wanted me to but…I couldn’t leave well enough alone, I guess.”

“Yeah, I know, you’re in love him.” Hugo said bluntly. “We get it.”

“Oh yeah? Tell that to Dad.”

“Not unless you want him to strangle you. We’re not going to tell him about this, I promise we’re gonna make up some alibis. And besides, if I wanted to convince Dad, that’d be easy...anybody that saw your Patronuses could tell you guys are in love.”

Rose gave him a quizzical look. She was going to ask him about this later but she wasn't going to dwell on that right now. As she held on to her brother, she watched her best friends comfort Babicz and Morgan. What was important was all right in front of her.


	22. Chapter 22

They'd travelled back to the Manor, where Albus and Hugo reassured Scorpius and his family that there was nothing to worry about. Haley had been sent to St. Mungo's and Morgan and Babicz were going to be just fine after a while. It was hard to tell which was more amusing in this awful situation: the reactions of Scorpius's parents to the situation or his grandparents reactions to both Weasley children and a Potter in the living room of the Manor. 

“Anyway, so sorry for the trouble, ma'am.” Hugo said respectfully to Astoria. “And happy birthday. This was lovely but I really must be going. My son's first birthday is this next weekend. I have to go help give him a bath quite soon.”

“I'll walk you out.” Rose offered, jumping from her spot next to Scorpius.

“Well. I'm going to bed.” His mother, a little shaken, shook her head. “We will discuss this in the morning.”

She nudged Draco, who faltered a second before following his wife's lead.

“Likewise,” his grandmother mumbled, nearing her bedroom. “Lucius.”

Similarly, his grandfather faltered before following the lead. That left Scorpius and Albus. It was silent for a second and they lived in that moment.

“Where's Zach?” Scorpius asked Albus. He knew he knew everything. He had to. Al looked at him, giving him a withered look that confirmed his suspicions.

“The French Ministry of Magic is looking for him now.” Albus answered. “We told my Dad and he made a few calls. We didn't tell him everything or that you were involved in the whole thing so don't worry.”

It was silent for a second as Scorpius and Albus watched Morgan and Babicz.

“Why didn't you tell me, Scorpius?” Albus shook his head. “Do you know how mad I would have been at you if you died? I would have loaned you the money, your parents would have, I don't understand why you'd put yourself in danger like this.”

Scorpius shook his head. “I wanted to do it for myself, Al. I needed to. I'd spent too long of my life being handed everything.”

“No offense man, but that's bullshit.” Al shook his head. “And the fact that you didn't trust me, your best friend, to not judge you lets me know how you feel about me.”

“You know it wasn't like that.” Scorpius hissed. 

“You could have asked for help! This shit could have been avoided if you just--”

“I wasn't going to put you in danger.”

“Well you put yourself in it. And Rose.” 

“I know. And I'm sorry. I just wanted...I wanted to be the good guy. For once. Be the person you thought I was or could be. I wanted to work for it, I wanted to earn that.” Scorpius shook his head, hearing how dumb he sounded. “I didn't want you to see a criminal.”

“Hey.” Albus moved towards Scorpius. He hugged his friend, his brother, tightly. “You've always been the good guy. Nothing can change that. Not even petty drug pushing when you were 22. My family knows evil. And you aren't it.”

Scorpius didn't want to admit he cried. But a tear certainly fell down his cheek.

* * *

 

“Hugo.” Rose said before her brother could leave. “I know you’ve already done a lot for me today and I appreciate that. But I need you to do me a favor.”

“Might as well,” Hugo gave her a small grin, picking a clump of dirt from her hair. “What is it?”

Rose pulled out her wand and wordlessly summoned a portfolio from underneath the couch cushion. Across the top of the folder, it read “To Whom It May Concern: The Department of Mysteries by Way of Scorpius H. Malfoy”.

“I need you to give this to Mum. Well, maybe not Mum exactly but...someone who can put this on the Head of the Department of Mysteries desk.” Rose whispered, placing the portfolio in Hugo’s hands. Hugo wordlessly shrunk the portfolio and put it in his wallet before asking questions, like the loyal Hufflepuff he’s always been.

“What is it, Rose?” Hugo sighed.

Rose bit her lip. “Scorpius. Okay, look. He does brilliant research about the solar system and the galaxy and the universe’s limitations on magic and he hasn’t shown anybody. This is the kind of research the Department of Mysteries should be begging for. I’m just trying to help him out.”

“He doesn’t like his Gringotts job all of a sudden?”

“You know he didn’t ask me to do this.” Rose shifted her weight and crossed her arms. Hugo quirked an eyebrow at her and laughed. 

“I know.” Hugo grinned. “Of course, my meddling big sister never does what she’s told, even for the man she’s in love with.” 

“Shut up, Hugo.” Rose rolled her eyes as Hugo reached out to pinch her cheeks. She swatted his hands away and hit him in the stomach.

“Rosie’s in love.” Hugo sang, nudging her over. Rose felt heat rise to her cheeks. She thought back to that thing that Hugo said about their Patronuses and wondered what he meant. She hesitated and thought about  it, but she was too afraid to ask. She rolled her eyes at Hugo, giving him another hug. 

“Don’t lose it.” Rose hissed before pressing a kiss on his cheek.  

“Hey, hey, hey.” Hugo kissed her forehead. “Don’t pull this shit ever again. I don’t care how dumb your boyfriend is. You tell me if a drug lord is out to kill you next time.”

Rose smiled. “I promise.”

“No. Swear to me, Rose.” Hugo was being uncharacteristically serious. “Jeremy is going to need an aunt and uncle to run away to when Fiona kills me for risking my life like this for you. Mum and Dad are getting too old.”

She nodded, solemnly swearing. Hugo searched her eyes for any deceit for a second longer before he was satisfied, nodding at her and giving her his stupid lopsided grin. 

“And speaking of Dad, call him for me, yeah?” Hugo said before pulling out his wand to Apparate. “Mum says he just sulks everyday. He misses you Rose, you know that.”

Rose sighed, pinching her nose. “Hugo, I...I can’t just pretend what he did was okay. He doesn’t own me. This isn’t the 1800s, he’s got no right to act like he deserves a dowry from my happiness.”

“I know that!” Hugo rolled his eyes. “It’s not my fault that Dad is old-fashioned and all that. He just wants the best for you. And since I’m being so kind and swearing not to tell that you’re marrying a former drug dealer and want to hire him to work in the Ministry, I’m not taking no for an answer on this. Talk to him. For my sake. For Mum’s sake. For Jeremy’s sake. Please, Rose.”

Rose groaned in response as Hugo waved and apparated away, not taking no for an answer. Alone in the hallway, Rose with her thoughts, she began to really consider the kind of day she had.

“Ms. Weasley.” 

Or so she thought. She whipped around and was faced with Scorpius’s father, in the hallway of the Manor. He was hanging up his blazer. Rose’s heart rate quickened for some odd reason. She’d never really spent much time talking with Scorpius about his dad. All she knew about his father was stories from school, her father, and from what she’s seen this past day at the Manor.  He was the spitting image of Scorpius, just a little skinnier and angular. 

“Hello Mr. Malfoy.” Rose said quietly. She uncrossed her arms and let them fall by her side. 

“I’m sorry about all this, you know.” Mr. Malfoy said, running a hand through his hair. “Scorpius has always been a little bit of a...rebel, you know? Runs in the family. But you...you must know a little something about that.”

“I suppose.” Rose muttered. 

“This must have been quite an ordeal for your family.” His father smiled tightly. “This whole thing.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Malfoy…” Rose’s mouth was moving faster than her words. “I’m not sorry. About any of this whole thing.”

His father blinked, not expecting that answer probably. 

“Scorpius is a good man, Mr. Malfoy.” Rose said, walking forward and past him. “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to head to bed. There’s a big day tomorrow. I’m sorry for all the trouble. Tell Mrs. Malfoy happy birthday from me.”

* * *

 

His mother’s birthday parties were legendary in the new-age progressive pureblood community. Everyone who was anyone came, political officials and socialites alike. Not on the same scale as Rose’s family, of course, but to his mother and her friends: the world. That’s why he was here in this black tie suit, waiting for her to make her grand entrance.

His mother stumbled slightly when she descended down the steps and his father reached out to catch her, dramatically. She laughed, tossing her head back, as he fussed over her. 

She looked beautiful in a nice velvety dark brown dress, long sleeved and classic. Everyone at her birthday party tapped their wands against their glasses and his father pressed a kiss to his mother’s cheek for chastity’s sake. Scorpius rolled his eyes but he smiled as his mother basked in the attention. Today was her day.

“Rose, Scorpius, dear, come talk to the Hayettes, they are dying to meet you both. Honestly.” his mother smiled, wiping a stain on his cheek. Scorpius placed a protective arm around Rose’s waist instinctively.

“Actually, Mrs. Malfoy, I’m going to head to the bathroom pretty quickly, feminine emergency, but I will be right out, I promise.” Rose said, unravelling herself from Scorpius’s grip. “But I’m sure Scorp can handle this.”

Well so much for partners. 

As his mother led him to the Hayettes, he watched Rose ascend up the stairs. She tossed her hair back. 

“I’ll take it from here, Astoria. The Glendale’s are asking for you in the corner.” Scorpius felt a chill as his grandfather placed a hand on his shoulder. His mother pressed a kiss to his cheek and pranced over to the Glendale's corner, holding her train. 

“What do you think of Thora?” his grandfather asked nonchalantly. Scorpius turned his head and took a look at her, significantly confused. A curly haired and small thing, olive-skinned and freckle-faced. She was watching his mother play Exploding Snap with the youngest Glendale and laughing at their similarly childlike reactions. Scorpius shrugged.

“She does a fine job.”

“She’s sweet. Top of her class at Healer school.” his grandfather nodded in Thora’s direction. “Yes, yes, very sweet girl.”

“Should Grandmother be jealous?” Scorpius chuckled. His grandfather gave him a tiny sliver of a smile, which was good enough for him.

“She’s a Wexler.” his grandfather continued. Scorpius stiffened. 

“So…?”

“A fine family.”

“Fine, you say. But you mean pureblood.” Scorpius shook his head, grabbing a floating wine cup. 

“Not necessarily. Respectful.” Lucius smirked. “Traditional. Nice.”

“What are you trying to do here?” Scorpius said, blood boiling. “Are you trying to set me up with Mother’s nurse right now? Unbelievable.” 

“Well, why do you think we hired her?” his grandfather laughed, an eerie sound. Scorpius rolled his eyes, disgusted but not surprised. His grandfather walked away, leaving him with his thoughts of rage.

“Oh, and Scorpius--here.” His grandfather dug into the darkness of his cloak and pulled out an envelope. Scorpius blinked, weary of envelopes at this point, but accepted it out of respect. 

“What’s this?” he asked his grandfather, placing it in his back pocket. His grandfather furrowerd his brow. 

“Just something for when this little romantic tryst of yours burns out.” Scorpius rolled his eyes.

“This is ridiculous.” 

“Well,” his grandfather hissed. “If there’s anything yesterday and the whole Zabini situation proved, you’d do anything for money. Maybe this is the way to appeal to you. Break the engagement Scorpius. Maybe not for us or you, but for the Weasley girl--”

“Rose.”

“--at the very least. She doesn’t deserve this, Scorpius. If I were you, I’d set her free.” 

“Good thing I’m not you.” Scorpius ripped the envelope and dropped it on the floor in front of his grandfather. Without looking down, his grandfather’s mouth quirked upwards as he wandlessly attached the check back together and placed it in Scorpius’s hand. And without a sound, his grandfather smiled at him blankly and moved to sit next to his grandmother opposite her elaborate armchair in the middle of the living room, who was dozing off quietly, in their matching armchairs.

He had grown wary of envelopes handed to him from people who he did not trust. He looked for somewhere private to open it and most likely destroy it but he found Rose again, the glimpse of red hair amongst the sea of black. He smiled as he watched her decline a drink from the floating wine bottle and excuse herself to a different bathroom this time. Following her, but trying to be discreet, Scorpius ascended the stairs and knocked on the door.

“Occupied.” Rose sang.

“It’s me.” Scorpius said back. He was met with silence, then the unlocking of the door as she pulled him inside. Upon entry, Scorpius grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. He placed his head in the crook of her neck, breathing her in. Rose smiled, placing her arms around his neck. Scorpius brought his head back up to hers, resting his forehead there. "I missed you."

“It’s only been 20 minutes.” 

“I know what I said.”

Rose gave him a gentle but quizzical look. “Yeah? I saw you talking to your grandfather for a bit. What was that about?”

“Hm?” Scorpius had sauce on the corner of his mouth as he looked down at her. Rose instinctively reached out to brush it away. 

“What did your grandfather want?” Rose murmured.

“Nothing.” Scorpius shrugged. “Just wanted to talk about you and everything. I just tried to get away from him as quickly as possible because of the whole Morgan thing.”

Rose made a noise in the back of her throat in agreement. 

“Now that,” Rose shook her head. “That was crazy.”

She tried to say more but Scorpius kissed her again, slowly and this time she felt his tongue slip in, lightly and gently, too gently it seems because it appeared there almost without her noticing. But once she did, he pressed it urgently against hers in happiness and Rose smiled against his warm lips.

His hands ventured down her backside, squeezing gently. Rose grinned against his lips as she ran a hand by his belt. Scorpius shuddered, grabbing her hand and pressing it closer to where he needed it to be.

“We’re in a bathroom.” Rose whispered. “Your mom’s birthday party is happening righ outside.”

“To be honest, Rose, I don't care.” Scorpius laughed. “I want you right here, right now.” 

“Scorpius, please don’t--” Rose was cut off by Scorpius lifting her, contact creating silence. She heard his mother’s distinct laugh in the distance but her mind was clouding over.

“You like when other people hear us, don’t you?” he muttered, bringing her to sit on the counter. Rose smiled, as she managed to undo his buckle, fumbling with the button. “I bet you do. Don’t you, Rose?”

Rose nodded helplessly and moaned a little, as he brought his hand underneath her chin, moving her neck for him and exposing her shoulder. It had been too long.

“Scorpius,” the name dropped from her lips like a petal as he planted kisses one by one. His hand grasped at her chest. Her hand slipped into his pants and he whimpered, which made her smile. “Please.”

“Whatever you say, Rose.” Scorpius breathed raggedly into her ear, the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard. It was so wrong, so unbelievably wrong to be doing this right now but that’s what made this slightly better.

He was aggressive about the way he pressed into her but kissed her gently. Bruises left behind as a gift, Rose felt her desire crawl up her spine as she tried to stay quiet. She moaned a little louder than she should have and Scorpius shushed her, placing a hand near her lips. Without thinking and trying to keep herself quiet, she allowed his index finger passage into her mouth. Scorpius stared at her, in awe.

  
And just like that: everything--and he means everything was forgotten. The Glendales, the Wexlers, his grandparents, his parents, every single pureblood dignitary in his childhood home right now. All that he could focus on, literally all that he could focus on, was Rose in this moment. 


End file.
